You Say Ugly, I Say Healthy: Hungry Harvest Expands Its Produce Deliveries

Hungry Harvest, the “Shark Tank”-backed home delivery service selling produce that might otherwise get tossed, is expanding to 30 new cities. But you may have to wait a few years for these “ugly” harvests to get to you.

Since launching in the Washington, D.C., area in 2014, Hungry Harvest has expanded to Philadelphia, South Florida, Detroit and Raleigh, North Carolina.

Next on the list? Charlotte, North Carolina, according to a report from The Packer. Additional spots in the South, Midwest and Northeast sound like they’re coming up, too — co-founder Evan Lutz told The Packer that there’s been a lot of demand from these parts of the country.

The service’s website has a waiting list you can subscribe to if you want to know when it’s your city’s turn.

We reached out to Hungry Harvest for a list of upcoming locations and will post an update when we know more.

The company’s produce boxes can vary widely by season and even from week to week, but one trait is constant: Every order is packed with imperfections. The berries were too large or too small. A forklift bumped a load of green peppers and damaged some of the cases. The wholesaler bought too much.

In fact, up to 40% of Hungry Harvest’s produce comes from a surplus of produce that might otherwise get trashed. Some of the produce may look different, but it all tastes the same as what you’d find at the grocery store.

The company says it has kept more than 5 million pounds of food out of landfills. It also works with SNAP markets and donation partners to reduce food insecurity.

Harvest Boxes range in price from $15 to $50, with organic-only boxes costing the most.

Lisa Rowan is a senior writer at The Penny Hoarder, where she covers the grocery and retail industries.