Imperfect Foods launches food waste service in Pittsburgh
As concern about food waste in the United States grows, new companies continue to pop up, promising to deliver “ugly” or overstocked produce directly to their customers’ doorsteps.
Misfits Market was the first such company to enter the Pittsburgh market, arriving by September 2018, about a month after the company started in Philadelphia. Hungry Harvest is a similar company that so far serves only Philadelphia in this state, along with several other metropolitan regions in the eastern half of the United States.
A third such company, Imperfect Foods, is actually the oldest of the three, having started in 2015. It launched in Pittsburgh about a month ago.
Cofounders Ben Chesler and Ben Simon first discovered their passion for food recovery when they were students at the University of Maryland. They started the Food Recovery Network, which donates excess foods from college cafeterias to food banks. Many schools on the East Coast now participate in that nonprofit.
After graduation, Mr. Chesler and Mr. Simon moved to California to start Imperfect Foods, taking advantage of the year-round growing season in California’s Central Valley. Much of the company’s produce is sourced there, particularly in the wintertime when farms in the east are producing little.
CEO Philip Behm said the company works with both farms and co-ops around the country, buying produce that wouldn’t pass muster with traditional grocery chains because of small blemishes, odd shapes or color variations. What sets Imperfect Foods apart, he said, is that the company owns the entire supply chain from the initial food purchases to the means of delivery.
The company recently surpassed its first goal of rescuing 100 million pounds of food, Mr. Behm said. That took four years.
The second hundred million should take less than two years, he said, in part because of expansion into more cities such as Pittsburgh.
Right now, Pittsburgh customers get their boxes of food by courier service from the company’s Cleveland facility. Within the next month or two, Pittsburghers will begin to see Imperfect Foods vans delivering food around town.
Deliveries to different sections of the city happen on different days. The company designs efficient “milk route style” delivery runs to reduce the carbon footprint and the company’s costs, Mr. Behm said.
Owning the entire supply chain also allows the company to ensure freshness of food, he said, noting Imperfect Foods’ items typically arrive on customers’ doorsteps when they’re four to seven days old, whereas grocery store produce can sometimes be as many as 20 days old.
He said hundreds of customers have already signed on in Pittsburgh, and “we love the city because there’s so much consciousness of the problem [of food waste], and it’s a foodie city.”
Costs and availability of items vary from city to city. In Pittsburgh, a 17- to 19pound box of produce costs $22. For an additional charge, customers can choose to add grain, snack, meat or fish items. During a usual week, customers can choose from a list of 30 to 40 produce items and 160 grocery staples. Customers can choose to be surprised, but they can also customize their boxes, unlike at Misfits Market, which keeps every week’s delivery a surprise.
For information: imperfectfoods.com.
More food rescue news
412 Food Rescue: Founder Leah Lizarondo is being honored with a Global Leadership Award from Vital Voices, a women’s leadership organization cofounded by Hillary Rodham Clinton. 412 Food Rescue celebrates its fifth birthday this month and has saved more than 10 million pounds of food that otherwise would have been discarded. 412foodrescue.org.
Festivals
Washington Goes Irish: Breakfast crawl, discounts on drinks from local watering holes, Irish stew cook-off, party. 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. March 14 on Main Street in Downtown Washington. facebook.com (search for “Washington Goes Irish”).
Family Fun Fest: Healthy smoothie samples, origami, games, face painting, wellness screenings, photo booth, giveaways and a sneak peek at the installation of the spring flower show. 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. March 15 at Phipps Conservatory, Oakland. Free with conservatory admission. phipps.conservatory.org (click on “Exhibits and Events”).
Pittsburgh’s Wine ’n Shine Pierogi Palooza: Wine and drink samples, pierogi buffet, shopping. Choice of sessions: Noon to 3 p.m. or 1 to 4 p.m. March 15 at Hilton Garden Inn Southpointe, Canonsburg. $10; $15 at door. winefestpa.com.
World flavors
Khuraki: A Celebration of Afghanistan in Pittsburgh: A theatrical, cultural and culinary celebration of Afghanistan to launch a new catering company, Zafaron Afghan Cuisine. 8 p.m. March 11-14 at Capital Cathedral, Millvale. $50; includes show, live music and Afghan dinner. realtimeinterventions.org.
Italian Sunday Supper: Multi-course, family-style meal with Italian wines and discussion with sommelier Adam Knoerzer. 5 to 8 p.m. March 15 at Sprezzatura Café, Millvale. $50. eventbrite.com (search for “Italian Sunday Supper”).
Classes
Recipe for Success: A Workshop for Foodpreneurs: Learn about regulations, testing and labeling requirements, pricing, barcodes, manufacturing, scaling and other concerns of small food businesses. 9:30 a.m. to noon March 14 at La Dorita Cooks, Sharpsburg. $25; includes coffee and brunch. eventbrite.com (search for “Recipe for Success”).
‘Safe Seven’ mushrooms: Learn to identify morel, shaggy mane, chicken, oyster, puffball, chanterelle and hen mushrooms. 7 p.m. March 17 at Beechwood Farms Nature Reserve, Fox Chapel. Free. wpamushroomclub.org.
Let’s Cook Mediterranean: Learn to cook a healthy Mediterranean meal. 6 p.m. March 19 at Penn State Extension Westmoreland County, Greensburg, or April 1 at Penn State Extension Allegheny County, South Park. $39. extension.psu.edu/lets-cookmediterranean.
Other food events
Pi(e) Squared: A ticket gets you a $3.14 square slice of Piebird pie and a $3.14 Roundabout Brewery beer. 4 to 6 p.m. March 14 at the former Full Pint Wild Pub, Lawrenceville. $6.28. pittsburgh.verylocal.com.
Slow Wines Tasting:
Italian and U.S. wines, cheeses, Mediterra bread, other snacks. 6 p.m. March 16 at Barsotti Warehouse, Strip District. $35. For an email invitation: phillips.virginia.r@gmail.com.