Ten years ago, Evan Lutz's entrepreneurship class assignment to start a sustainable business resulted in a single folding table in front of the University of Maryland student union and selling a couple of ugly cucumbers.
On November 1, back on the College Park campus, the former Terp received the Outstanding Young Alumnus Award for building that vegetable stand into Hungry Harvest, a company that recovers and sells imperfect fresh fruits, vegetables, and pantry items from Maryland farmers and suppliers and distributes them to customers throughout the Mid-Atlantic region.
Lutz, a Severna Park resident, said the class project idea came from talking to a farmer about straight cucumbers and symmetrical peppers at the College Park Farmers Market.
"I became fascinated with reducing food waste for a singular farm," said Lutz, noting that only "perfect" food is accepted by grocery stores and farmers markets, and the rest would go to waste. "The farmer agreed to sell his imperfect produce to me for 30 cents on the dollar. I then sold that food at less than retail prices to students and faculty. The food was delicious because it was only a day or two away from the farm, so it didn't matter what it looked like!"
Read more at Severna Park Voice