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What is TUFG?

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WHAT WE DO

What We Do

The Ugly Fruit Group is a social enterprise founded as an Enactus project by students at Durham University in 2019. Through our three pillars, Reusing, Donating and Educating we aim further our philosophy of fighting hunger by reducing food waste.

Reuse

Fruit and vegetables destined for the waste bin are donated by local wholesalers and supermarkets. The ripest produce, which needs to be used as soon as possible, is preserved using traditional methods and turned into delicious fruity snacks. These are then sold to you guys! All the money raised goes to maintaining and growing our project.

Reuse

Donate

The best quality fruit and vegetables we receive are donated in weekly food boxes to those in our local area who need it most. This is done through our partnerships with local food banks. All the produce we receive can be stored and transported.

Donate

Educate

Through our social media and university stalls we aim to change the perception of how food should look. We teach people how to cook and eat products that are riper and less aesthetic than usual. We believe all fruit and vegetables are delicious, no matter how different they look!

Educate

So far we have...

Saved

2839k g

of fruit and veg

Prevented

3823kg

of CO2 emissions

Saved

6725

meals worth of fruit & veg

Prevented

583673l

of wasted water

Supported

3 local food banks

THE PROBLEM

The Problem

Now more than ever before there is an inconsistency in the food ecosystem: over 800 million people world-wide go to bed hungry everyday, yet food waste is reaching unprecedented levels. The situation in the UK can be summarised by these 5 facts:

70%

In the UK

of fruit and veg is thrown away.

Food waste from Europe and the USA alone could solve world hunger four times over. Not only is food waste damaging to the environment as more trees are cut down for farmland and more water is used in food production, but it is also damaging for developing countries. Increased demand for food drives world prices up.

data taken from a WRAP 2012 publication

In the UK

40%

of fruit and veg is wasted on aesthetics alone.

Almost 45% of food waste happens before the food even reaches stores. For example, due to food specifications, if a red onion is below 40 mm in diameter it will not be sold. Here at The Ugly Fruit Group we believe that all fruit and vegetables are delicious regardless of how different they are!

data taken from a WRAP 2012 publication

In the UK

2%

of families used a food bank in 2019.

Families' reliance on food banks has increased: families are returning to food banks 10-15 times a row compared to an average of just 2-3 times two years ago.

data taken from Statista.

In the UK

10%

of children live in severe food insecurity.

Severe food insecurity means that families are unable to provide the required nutrition for children without extra support. This percentage makes the UK one of the worst ranked developed countries worldwide.