B.C. farmers giving away 150,000 pounds of 'ugly' produce, other food for free

They’re misshaped.

Some have a blemish or two.

Or perhaps they’re just too small to sell at the store.

Rather than being thrown out, these vegetables are part of the 150,000 pounds of misfit produce being distributed for free this weekend in Surrey.

“They taste delicious, they’re still nutritious, they just look a little wonky,” said Tyler Heppell of Heppell Potato Farm.

He’s once again organizing an “Ugly Potato Day,” and this year, a dozen farmers from the Lower Mainland are taking part.

“Our community needs us. It’s our responsibility to feed these 20 per cent of people who rely on food banks,” he said.

In the past, the event has been held at Heppell’s farm, but it’s grown so much that they’ve moved it to the Cloverdale Fairgrounds Saturday instead.

Organizers are expecting as many as 10,000 people, and donations include everything from potatoes to cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, bread and even thousands of pounds of noodles and chocolate.

Heppell said the number of people needing help from food banks continues to grow.

“Some food banks, the wait is three hours to get two days' worth of food. That’s not sustainable,” he explained, adding that people can also make donations at the event.

He said there will be an extra set of eyes on the potatoes this year, after some concerns arose in the past over the actions of a small number of attendees.

“We have caught people grabbing a few hundred pounds of produce. And we do have produce police this time, watching what people are grabbing," he said.

Heppell said the concern is people taking food they don’t need and selling it.

But he said the focus is not on the cheaters, but rather the people they can help.

“It gives me a lot of joy seeing someone that’s really surviving from food banks come and be able to feed their family from our hard work,” he said.

So while the produce may not be perfect in appearance, Heppel said it’s perfectly nutritious and part of a movement to fight food insecurity that keeps on growing.

The event takes place Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Cloverdale Fair Grounds.