I’m getting set for the academic semester ahead and delighted to be back part-time lecturing at La Trobe. One of the things I get my nutrition and dietetics students to do in pracs is guess that ugly veg. With so much of the plant kingdom under utilised they need to know their kohlrabi from their okra. And we all need to learn to love produce that is NQR. Woolworths have teamed up with Jamie Oliver to launch The Odd Bunch Campaign designed to do just that. And we spoke to their nutrition team to being you this Scoop:
The Odd Bunch launched late last year and is a collection of delicious fresh produce with small imperfections and a cheaper price. Woolworths is the first supermarket in Australia to launch such an initiative at a national scale. And over 1.5m kg of fruit and veg has been sold since launch.
As some lovely readers will be aware, according to statistics from Horticulture Australia Limited, 25 per cent of perfectly edible fresh produce is thrown away due to visual imperfection or cosmetic damage every year in Australia. The Odd Bunch at Woolworths allows shoppers to buy the fruit and veg that would normally be rejected and will hopefully educate us all a little more about appreciating our precious food supply. The range also hopefully benefits Australian growers and suppliers who are able to sell more produce to the supermarket, wasting less in the process.
The first wave of The Odd Bunch produce includes potatoes, apples, pears and carrots with more items appearing on shelves in the coming months based on seasonality, supply and store location.
What do you think lovely readers? I know those of you who grow your own are used to the weird and wonderful! But when did our world become so polished and perfected? Just over a week to go til our big launch and announcement. So only one post this week as we beaver away in the Scoop press office. Have I got you intrigued by now?
