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These oddly shaped squash, carrots and tubers are perfectly edible, but not presentable enough for retailers. Now, Heppell’s Potato Corp. is using them in a new way to reduce waste and ease the pain of high food prices

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Tyler Heppell, a B.C. vegetable-farm owner and TikTok celebrity, joins a patron of his ‘Ugly Potato Day’ event in a livestream.Jackie Dives/The Globe and Mail

Tyler Heppell, of Heppell’s Potato Corp. in Surrey, B.C., has amassed more than 200,000 followers on TikTok by educating the public about food waste.

Heppell’s is a large farm whose produce is sold in grocery stores across the province. Retailers typically only want vegetables that look perfect, so the farm frequently ends up with hundreds of pounds of produce that is perfectly edible but doesn’t fit the size and shape requirements set by grocers.

After posting on TikTok about such “ugly” produce, Mr. Heppell noticed his followers commenting that many families have been hurt by soaring food costs and are unable to afford fresh fruits and vegetables. He realized he could reduce the amount of waste at his farm while also giving back to the community.

So on Aug. 27, Heppell’s held an “Ugly Potato Day,” inviting the public to visit the farm and take free potatoes, carrots and squash that would otherwise be thrown away or made into dog food. The farm gave away 9,000 pounds of “ugly” produce and collected almost $2,000 in donations for the Vancouver Food Bank.

“Ugly Potato Day is something I wanted to start where we could help feed our community as well as educate our consumer to know that just because the produce looks a certain way doesn’t mean you can’t eat it and doesn’t mean it’s not nutritious,” Mr. Heppell said.

He is planning to hold another Ugly Potato Day in October.

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From knobby potatoes to elongated squash, the event in Surrey gave away 9,000 pounds of produce that might otherwise be discarded or made into dog food.
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The Aug. 27 event netted nearly $2,000 for the Vancouver Food Bank. Another is planned for October.

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