Durham University

The Ugly Fruit Group

We are an Enactus Durham student social enterprise that tackles food insecurity in the North-East by redistributing leftover or ‘ugly’ fruit and vegetables that would have otherwise been wasted to the most vulnerable communities.

Through our holistic ethos of ‘Reuse, Donate and Educate’, we have saved 2470 kg of produce from retailers like JR Holland and Aldi, the majority of which is then contributed to local food banks around County Durham. Food that cannot be donated is turned into delicious and healthy new products in our kitchens which are then sold at stalls and local retailers.

100% of profits go back into The Ugly Fruit Group, completing our life cycle and making the project sustainably scalable despite Covid, increasing our food suppliers and dedicated foodbanks since 2020. This has been aided by raising environmental awareness of food waste and encouraging citizens to reconsider their eating lifestyles through our increased online publicity and engagement with local brands.

Annual carbon savings achieved with the initiative:
CO2t savings 2021/2022: 1.93_+ 25,000 Institution (Actual).
CO2t savings 2022/2023: 1.86_+ 25,000 Institution (Estimated).   
CO2t savings over the life cycle of the project: 3.25 estimated since 2019. 

Top 3 Learnings

1. We have learnt how to address food waste from both front and back-end methods.
2. Growing a passionate team has allowed us to widen and improve support for beneficiaries.
3. Having our ‘Reuse, Donate and Educate’ ethos has clearly specified our philosophy of fighting hunger.