Ugly produce turned out to be a pretty sweet deal for the thousands who showed up to collect free vegetables at a South Surrey farm on Saturday, Oct. 14.

ThatB次元官网网址檚 when the Heppell family again, invited people to help themselves to B次元官网网址渦glyB次元官网网址� produce at their 184th Street farm, giving away several thousands of pounds of free, homegrown potatoes, squash and free carrots donated by Canadian Farms.

The event B次元官网网址� Ugly Produce Day B次元官网网址� was a spin-off of Ugly Potato Day, which the Heppells have now hosted a dozen times since June 2022.

B次元官网网址淚t went super well. We had 3,500 people come by,B次元官网网址� Heppell Potato Corp.B次元官网网址檚 Tyler Heppell said after the Oct. 14 event.

The initiative was launched to help reduce the number of edible potatoes that go to waste due to bruises, growth cracks, or their odd shape, and invites residents B次元官网网址� particularly those who are struggling with food security B次元官网网址� to stop by the property and fill up on the B次元官网网址榰glyB次元官网网址� fare that is still perfectly fine to eat.

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For the Oct. 14 Ugly Produce Day, several farms B次元官网网址� from as far away as South Africa and Wisconsin B次元官网网址� showed interest in participating in the free event, but many dropped out at the last minute, noted Hepppell.

He wants to see farms from all over B次元官网网址� like Johnson Fresh Farms in Alberta, who also participated Oct. 14 B次元官网网址� join in to make it a national, or even international, event.

B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檒l keep trying to do this.B次元官网网址�

First starting in June 2022, the Heppells also raise funds for several local charities at each B次元官网网址渦glyB次元官网网址� event, with $4,500 raised on Saturday alone for the Greater Vancouver Food Bank, Raphael House in Langley and the Cloverdale Community Kitchen.

In addition, HeppellB次元官网网址檚 company, Ten Servings, offers Ugly Potato merchandise such as T-shirts, hoodies and hats, that also helps his family get their extra B次元官网网址渦glyB次元官网网址� produce to people in need, online and at each event.

For every item sold, 10 servings of produce that arenB次元官网网址檛 quite up to the strict cosmetic standards of supermarkets are donated to local food banks, helping to feed the local community and reduce food waste, Heppell said.

While the busy harvest season is now winding down, Heppell said they may host one more ugly produce event this winter.