Hungry Harvest rescues imperfect produce for doorstop sales, non-profit donation

RALEIGH, NC (WTVD) -- In North Carolina, 1.2 million tons of food goes to waste each year while 1 in 4 children live in food insecurity.

Hungry Harvest is working diligently to fight back against childhood hunger. The startup was featured on ABC's Shark Tank in 2016 and as of January 2018, the organization is now in five markets, including the Raleigh-Durham area.

The company gathers surplus and imperfect produce from farmers that does not meet grocery store standards then boxes it and delivers to people's doorsteps.

"Ugly doesn't mean bad, moldy or rotten so the quality is great," said Bart Creasman, the Triangle Market Manager for Hungry Harvest.

"Sometimes, maybe there's a cucumber that's not perfectly straight or a carrot that's too big but the quality is fine to eat. We waste 40 percent of our food in America and a lot of that is at the farm and wholesale level from stuff that doesn't make the aesthetic cut or overstock," Creasman added.

Deliveries are made once a week. A typical box called a 'mini harvest' costs $16 and contains 10 pounds of produce or more.

Consumers are able to customize their delivery based on what produce is in for the week.

What doesn't get sold is donated to the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle.

New customers can use the code HEALTHYNC to save $5 on their first order at hungryharvest.net.