The hunt is on for Australia's ugliest fruit or vegetable.
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Food waste social enterprise Good & Fugly is putting up a year's supply of fruit and vegetables as the prize for whomever can produce the weirdest, and most unappealing, piece of produce.
Good & Fugly partners with local farmers to sell fresh fruit and vegetable boxes across Sydney and Melbourne.
The competition, which runs throughout February, is a celebration of misshapen and often rejected produce, and will be a "step towards busting the unrealistic fruit and veg beauty standards in supermarkets across Australia", according to Good & Fugly.
Entries will be judged by a panel with the winner announced on March, 6. Entrants are allowed to submit multiple entries.
The prize, worth more than $3000, is redeemable for cash for those who live outside of Good & Fugly's delivery areas.
Business co-founder Richard Tourino said food waste was a massive issue in Australia, with 25 per cent of fresh produce never leaving the farm because it wasn't pretty enough for supermarket shelves.
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"We want to change attitudes towards 'fugly' fruit and veg and create a bit of fun with this competition to encourage kids to find and consume quirky-looking produce and for adults to actively hunt out the lone, slightly misshapen fruits and vegetables they find on shelves, in their Good & Fugly boxes, or even in their own gardens," Mr Tourino said.
Figures from the federal government show Australians throw away 3.1 million tonnes of food a year.
"Good & Fugly launched in 2020, so after two years of creating our produce boxes from quirky and excess fruit and veg, I've seen my fair share of funny-looking produce," Mr Tourino said.
"We've had everything from three-headed eggplants, carrots with two legs, acrobatic capsicums, and wavy strawberries.
"But everything tastes just the same as the good-looking stuff, so we're here to shift perceptions and raise awareness of food waste in Australia.
"Studies show only one in seven Australian adults and one in five children eat the recommended daily intake of vegetables.
"We're looking to change this statistic and have been blown away by the response to Good & Fugly.
Mr Tourino said Australians care about food waste and want to do something about it.
"Eating fugly is such a simple way to support farmers across the country and bring fresh, seasonal produce into your week," he said.
- Photos of quirky-shaped fruit or vegetables can be submitted via the Good & Fugly website, here.
