Have you ever thought about how difficult it is for lettuce farmers to forecast the rate of the countries lettuce consumption, 3 months in advance, in the midst of a global pandemic? No? Well neither had we, that is until we came across Oddbox.
Turns out, it’s hard to estimate how much lettuce country will consume, or how much large supermarket chains will order, therefore, a surplus of product is entirely unavoidable. However, what isn’t unavoidable is food waste and Oddbox have provided the perfect solution to combat this nationwide issue.
This is the UK’s story of gratitude for Oddbox, for saving surplus and wonky veg from becoming food waste, and delivering produce fresh to your home.
Founders Deepak and Emilie first began conceptualising Oddbox whilst on holiday in Portugal: according to the Oddbox website, they were struck with inspiration ‘at a food market filled with wonky fruit and veg. It looked weird, kind of ugly but it tasted delicious.’ They began to think about all of the perfectly shaped fruit seen on the shelves of supermarkets in the UK and wondered where all of the odd-shaped fruit and veg went?
‘They were appalled to find out it got wasted. In fact a shocking 20-40% of produce in the UK is wasted before it even leaves the farms meaning a lot of unnecessary waste for the planet, a raw-deal for producers and a whole wonky world of missed opportunities for people like us to eat.’ – Oddbox Website
Since then, Oddbox have delivered over 35,000 boxes to homes in the south on England; have become a registered B Corp business and partnered with local charities to help fight against food poverty. They’ve come a long way from packing boxes in a small room on a Saturday morning, and intend to continue growing the business to bring Oddbox to more regions around the country.
Imagine if we all chose to buy our food produce from sustainable sources such as Oddbox or our local farmer’s market. No only could we help support local businesses, but we could save so much food from going to waste. If we all make a small change, together we can make a huge difference.
What are you grateful for? Say thank you the best way we know how, by sharing your story on sharegratitude.com