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  • (energetic acoustic music)

  • - Across the whole foods system,

  • 20% of fruits and vegetables that are grown

  • never make it to a human mouth.

  • Food waste is a complex problem, some of it is

  • because of the really tight aesthetic standards

  • of the grocery stores, need to be perfectly round,

  • the same size, the same color.

  • My name is Ben Chesler, and I'm one of the co-founders

  • of Imperfect Foods.

  • (groovy acoustic music)

  • Imperfect Foods is a grocery delivery service

  • that takes produce and groceries

  • that would normally go to waste and delivers them

  • to your door for 30% less than the grocery store.

  • We started this because

  • we noticed there was an environmental need,

  • and there was food going to waste.

  • If food waste were a country, it would actually be

  • the third largest emitter of green house gases,

  • and then there's all of the resources, all the water,

  • all the labor, that goes to waste.

  • We know the more people we reach,

  • the bigger impact we're able to have on the environment.

  • We wanted to be close to the farmers

  • and close to the source,

  • and over half of the produce consumed in the US

  • is grown in California, and San Francisco it was.

  • We came out here with basically a forklift, a warehouse,

  • and the shirts on our backs.

  • The way we work with farms,

  • we're here to help them reduce waste,

  • so every week, farms basically send us a list

  • of the fruits and vegetables that they can't sell,

  • and we're putting together a complete menu.

  • When you talk to the farmers you really understand

  • these fruits and vegetables are kind of their children

  • and they put so much care and love into growing them,

  • and they have so much pride in their craft.

  • (rhythmic acoustic guitar music)

  • - I love farming because I like the challenge,

  • I like always going up against Mother Nature.

  • Lakeside Organic Gardens, we farm over 3,000 acres,

  • we grow over 52 different types of vegetables,

  • cilantro, parsley, broccoli, cauliflower, parsnips,

  • rutabegas, turnips, lettuces all types,

  • romaine, green leaf, red leaf, iceberg, chard.

  • We consider ourselves a one stop shop

  • for organic vegetables.

  • We're in a red cabbage field where it's just been harvested.

  • Here on my left, I have a Lake Side regular box,

  • and to my right I have the Imperfect box.

  • All of them are uniform standard, pretty.

  • This is just exactly the same, same field, same deal,

  • just a little bit smaller.

  • Ideally, for any farmer in this world,

  • the perfect scenario is harvest every piece

  • of produce that's out in the field.

  • Delicious.

  • Before we teamed up with Imperfect Foods,

  • you'd have quite a bit of product left out in the fields.

  • Now we have an outlet for those vegetables

  • that aren't as pretty, but they taste just the same

  • as anything else.

  • Like they say it, "Don't judge a book by its cover,"

  • same with vegetables, you know?

  • If they're a little bit off,

  • don't knock it till you try it.

  • (somber banjo music)

  • - We're here in the Imperfect Foods warehouse

  • in San Francisco, and so this is where all the produce,

  • the groceries, the meat, the dairy, everything,

  • comes in from the farms, so let's go take a look

  • at some of the product.

  • Why would these mandarins go to Imperfect,

  • not a grocery store, and you can see some of this, like,

  • external scarring, roughness of the outside

  • or discoloration, little bit of peeling.

  • The grocery stores really don't want them,

  • and they would normally go to waste on the farm.

  • About a year ago we expanded beyond produce,

  • because we noticed that there was food going to waste

  • across the whole food system.

  • It's really well aligned that every box of produce

  • and groceries we sell helps us fight climate change

  • and do some good for the environment.

  • One of the main things that drives us to be better

  • and keep pushing is knowing that our work is helping

  • to leave the planet in a better place

  • than we found it for our children.

  • Now we're headed to Food Shift,

  • which is one of our community partners in the Bay Area.

  • So sometimes when we have product that we can't sell,

  • we want it to still find a home

  • so we donate to organizations like Food Shift.

  • - We are a combination of food recovery organization

  • and a social enterprise kitchen.

  • We educate folks who would otherwise

  • face high barrier to entry for employment,

  • and we hire them for our own enterprise,

  • catering and distribution of produced meals.

  • I want everybody to be mindful and be kind to each other,

  • and food is a great way to do that,

  • 'cause when we break our proverbial bread together,

  • I think we're closer, we think about our sameness,

  • we solve things together, we put aside our differences,

  • or we even embrace our differences.

  • What a privilege that we get to eat,

  • and what a privilege that we get to cook.

  • - It's amazing that food is really so central

  • to people's identity, and it can really serve

  • as a force to bring people together.

  • It's also one of the biggest issues

  • affecting climate change,

  • and in health, and nutrition, obesity.

  • So it is really crazy how this small seed

  • turns into a piece of fruit or vegetable

  • and then basically can have so many positive effects

  • on the world.

  • (happy synth music)

  • (whooshing)

  • (creaking)

(energetic acoustic music)

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