Shoutout to the produce stand on 8th and Maple for their 'ugly' veggie bags

I stopped by that little farm stand on 8th and Maple yesterday, the one that's only open on weekends. I always walk past it, but this time I saw these brown paper bags near the front labeled 'kitchen helpers' for 3 dollars each. I was curious, so I bought one. When I got home and opened it, I found like 5 pounds of vegetables. There were two huge zucchinis with some weird curves, three bell peppers with small brown spots, a bunch of carrots that were split or kinda small, and a massive onion. Nothing was bad, just not pretty enough for the regular bins. I chopped it all up last night and made a giant pot of veggie soup that'll feed me for days. It got me thinking about how much good food gets tossed just for looks. Does anyone else have a local spot that sells imperfect produce for cheap?

4 comments

4 Comments

harris.andrew2mo ago

Wish I saw the same value @fionam11, but my local spot just puts the ugly stuff in the regular pile.

barbara_jenkins662mo ago

The Kroger on Elm Street marks down their ugly fruit to a dollar a bag on Sunday afternoons, I always grab a couple.

wren_mitchell4d agoMost Upvoted

Oh for sure @barbara_jenkins66 that's a solid tip! I'm jealous your Kroger does that, mine only marks down the sad bananas and that's about it. Honestly I wish more stores would follow that model, it's such a win-win. I've started asking my local grocery manager when they do markdowns and half the time they'll just point me to a cart they haven't put out yet. You gotta be relentless about it lol.

fionam112mo ago

Isn't it amazing what you can find? I love that more places are doing this. My local co-op has a bin near the back with discounted produce that's past its prime or just blemished. I check it every time and have made some great meals from it. It feels good to save that food and my money too.

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