Eat ugly fruit
If you’re an environmentally thoughtful eater who hates food waste (as we all should) you’ll want to eat some ugly fruit. Specifically, The Ugly Company’s dried fruit, including whole cherries and sliced peaches, nectarines, apricots, and kiwi. The market for upcycled or rescued foods now includes fruit from some of California’s Central Valley family farms. The Ugly Company founder and fourth-generation farmer Ben Moore was disgusted by the millions of pounds of fruit he and others discarded for either cosmetic reasons, such as bruises, pest damage, and split pits, or market demand. Overripe fruits, too, are tossed because they don’t travel well. Scrapped produce usually ends up in landfills, which emits methane, a harmful greenhouse gas, as it rots. Even more important, perfectly edible food doesn’t get eaten while too many people are hungry. About five years ago, Moore launched his business of drying “ugly fruit” in dehydration tunnels at the company’s plant in Farmersville. His grandmother was his inspiration, although she dried fruit slices on the roof of her house. Since 2019, Moore says, “We’ve prevented 6.1 million pounds of food waste; approximately 3.6 million of those pounds were in 2023. We’re still a pretty small company that’s starting to grow fast now.” As demand for his dried fruits increases, the company plans to rescue even more discarded fruit. (Dried plum slices are coming soon.) Bags of Ugly dried fruit ($6 for 3 to 4 ounces) contain just one ingredient, the fruit, with no sugar or preservatives added. Moore eats the fruit while he’s driving his truck, “instead of eating a candy bar.” It also makes a flavorful, chewy addition to hot and cold cereal bowls, yogurt, and trail mixes.
Available at REI, 375 Cochituate Road, Framingham, 508-270-6325, and
279 Salem St., Reading, 781-944-5103; Shubie’s Marketplace, 16 Atlantic Ave.,
Marblehead, 781-631-0149; and online at www.theuglyco.com.