Backyard gardeners and commercial growers can celebrate nature’s humor by entering their misshapen and imperfect fruits and vegetables in the Perfectly Wild Produce Contest.
Sponsored by Wasatch Cooperative Market, the competition takes place Saturday, Sept. 9, at the Downtown Farmers Market at Pioneer Park, 300 S. 300 West. It’s one of several activities taking place during Utah’s Eat Local Week., Sept. 9-16.
To enter, take your ugly produce to the Co-op’s booth in the northeast corner of the park between 8 and 10 a.m. Visitors will vote for their favorites from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Winners will be announced at 1:30 p.m. with prizes for the most unusually shaped produce in the commercial and backyard growers categories.
All entries must be edible and will be donated to the Utah Food Bank after the contest.
Statistics show that a large portion of the fruits and vegetables that are grown in the U.S. are discarded because they don’t meet consumer and retailer cosmetic standards.
Members of Wasatch Cooperative Market — who are working to create a full-service grocery store that will support local farmers and artisans — hope the contest will help change consumer attitudes.
“We celebrate the oddballs of edibles, for they are as fresh and nutritious as their flawless-looking counterparts,” leaders said in a news release.
For more information, visit wasatch.coop or eatlocalweek.org/.