Page 41 - EarthHeroes

The money Fruta Feia makes is used to help the scheme reach more people. Since starting, and with the help of some awards and a grant from the European Union, they have grown from 100 customers, 10 farmers and one delivery point in Lisbon to 5,500 customers, 213 farmers and 11 delivery points in seven Portuguese cities. Every week they stop 15 tonnes of fruit and vegetables from being thrown away. They also run workshops in schools to raise awareness about the impact of food waste. This includes a fruit challenge, where children taste both beautiful and ugly fruit while blindfolded and try to choose the beautiful one. Of course, they find it impossible to tell the difference.
Isabel loves her job because it combines problem-solving with spending time out in the countryside. She gets great satisfaction from helping farmers by buying their produce at a fair price and stopping it being thrown away. And she still finds it thrilling to see how her brilliant idea has become a reality.
Isabel plans to keep expanding her scheme across Portugal. Today, there are similar projects starting elsewhere in Europe and in the USA, and it seems that Fruta Feia is inspiring supermarkets to take action too. The first supermarket chain to sell imperfect produce was Intermarché in France. They named their range Les Fruits et Légumes Moches – Ugly Fruit and Vegetables.
Perhaps one day supermarkets will sell all fruits and vegetables regardless of their shape, size or colour. Isabel hopes so and that Fruta Feia will no longer be needed. Until then she will carry on working for change, supported by the farmers and volunteers who love what she is doing. And, of course, none of this would be possible without her loyal customers – the beautiful people who eat ugly fruit.
41