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On Hungry Harvest, 8 months in

I’ve been a Hungry Harvest customer for a little over 3/4 of a year now, so I thought it would be a good time to do an update post about it all.

What’s Hungry Harvest?

Quick recap: Hungry Harvest is an East Coast-based company that rescues excess/ugly produce and gets it into the hands of people who want to eat it.

They deliver it to customers’ doorsteps, and they also donate and sell deeply discounted produce to people in need (including those in food deserts in cities).

I love, love, love what Hungry Harvest is doing.

I mean, they’re rescuing food that would otherwise be wasted and they’re helping to feed people in need. What more could I ask??

Where do they deliver?

Right now, Hungry Harvest delivers in Maryland, DC, Northern Virginia, Philly, southeastern PA, South Jersey, and South Florida, but they are busy expanding.

So, if they’re not available in your area yet, sign up and get yourself on their waiting list, because they use the waiting list to help them decide where to expand!

How has the produce quality been?

Overall, great! A lot of the produce I’ve received has been excess, which means it’s first quality but that a grower had too much to sell.

So, that stuff is exactly like what I’d get at the grocery store.

The ugly produce has been unusual, yes, but delicious.

Sometimes I get huge carrots or tiny avocados or grapefruits with funky coloring, but these are just cosmetic problems.

And cosmetic problems are no reason to throw food away!

one squash rejected for being too small; another rejected for being too big!

If you do get a bruised or rotten item in your box, you can just let Hungry Harvest know. They try never to let this happen, but sometimes an item slips through their quality control, and they’ll want to make it right for you.

What if I get an item I hate?

Well, Hungry Harvest lets you put things on your “never” list.   So, I never have to worry that my box will be full of eggplants and okra.

<shudder>

AND, you can also customize your box for a small fee.

So, if you get your heads up email with the list of product for the week and you’re all, “GAH! I DO NOT NEED ANY MORE CARROTS RIGHT NOW.”, you can just log in to your account and change it up.

Does Hungry Harvest only sell produce?

That’s their main jam, but they do also sell some other foods that you can add on to your delivery.

For instance, they sell white eggs (farmers have a hard time selling white eggs because people think the brown ones are healthier) and surplus bread (fresh, but the bakers just had too much).

And at the time of this writing, they’re selling Organic Valley cheese, which has an expiration date of mid-December, which is too close for a grocery store’s comfort.

Isn’t this stuff more expensive than produce at Aldi?

Sometimes, yes.   I’ve done some price comparisons, and usually the total price of my box contents is just slightly more than the same items would be at Aldi.

BUT.

By purchasing from Hungry Harvest, I’m helping save produce from the landfill and I’m helping to feed hungry local families.   Totally worth paying more than I would at Aldi.

Plus, there’s this:

Getting a produce box makes me eat more produce, guaranteed.

Left to myself, I will tend to purchase less produce than I will with a delivery box.   And I will tend to stay in my comfort zone too.

I’ll buy spinach instead of kale and broccoli instead of Brussels sprouts. And I probably won’t buy beets at all.

But when Hungry Harvest sends me kale, broccoli, and beets, I’ll be darned if I’m not going to do my very best to cook and eat those foods.   I’m not about to waste what Hungry Harvest has rescued!

The Hungry Harvest box gently pushes me to work more produce (especially more veggies) and more variety into my cooking, and I really, really appreciate that.

So, there you have it! I’m still a very happy customer, 8 months in, and I give Hungry Harvest a huge thumbs up.

Ready to give it a try?

Sign up with Hungry Harvest and use the code FRUGALGIRL5 (expires June 1, 2018) to get $5 off of your first harvest.

After I signed up with Hungry Harvest, they asked me to help spread the word as a Hungry Harvest ambassador (I’m officially a #hungryharvesthero!), and of course I said yes. This post is not sponsored, though, all the words are my own, and I do not get credit/payment if you sign up with Hungry Harvest.

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Heather E.

Wednesday 15th of November 2017

I live about 45 minutes from Philly but we're not on their map yet. I'm going to try to get people to sign up for the wait list to up our chances of being added sooner rather than later. My local Giant bags up ugly produce and reduces the price significantly! I have had many a good score from the reduced produce rack. Often I truly cannot tell what the perceived issue was with the produce. I support our local farmers buy shopping weekly at a Farmer's Market but would love this for the winter months when the market is open less frequently. Thanks for your review.

priskill

Wednesday 15th of November 2017

I thought it was just another produce service (which is great) but using rejected food AND helping to feed needy folks -- well that is super great! And your broccoli/kale/brussels sprouts example was spot on -- if you send it, I will cook.

Sad that it is not available in CA yet . . . Thanks for this info1

Kristen

Wednesday 15th of November 2017

Check into a company called Imperfect Produce. I know they're in Southern California!

Accidental Fire

Wednesday 15th of November 2017

Thanks for this review! I read about this company online somewhere and didn't realize they're in my area. What a great idea - I mean, do I care if my carrot has a weird shape?

This phenomenon also says a lot about how appearance affects so much of people's behavior. Which translates into why folks spend more money on so many things in life that aren't necessary (cars, iphones, blenders etc)

Deidre

Wednesday 15th of November 2017

That is so wonderful, I only found out recently how many millions of tonnes of great produce is discarded on farms in Australia because it's not the right size or shape - apparently thousands of tonnes of cavendish bananas are left to rot if they are not bent and lady fingers if they are not straight (crazy eh?) or if either are the wrong length, this is crazy - all that water, fertilizer, labour costs and fuel used to harvest fruit that will be dumped, all because it's not shaped right. Farmers markets are growing in popularity and one supermarket here sells a brand called 'the odd bunch' I'm so glad it's starting to take off more.

Solitary Diner

Tuesday 14th of November 2017

It horrifies me that the produce in your pictures is considered "waste". It's so beautiful! I'm glad that Hungry Harvest exists and that you've made it a priority to buy from them and promote them on your blog. If they ever come to Canada, I'll definitely look into signing up.

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