Misfits Market is dedicated to making affordable, high-quality food more accessible while helping break the cycle of food waste. We work directly with farmers and makers to rescue organic produce and other grocery items that might otherwise go to waste, then deliver them to your door—all while passing the savings on to you. Every Misfits Market box you order benefits farmers, helps prevent food waste, and ultimately helps save our environment.
This distressing fact is really what started it all: Almost a third of what’s grown in the U.S. never gets harvested because it doesn’t meet the superficial standards of a traditional grocery store. Because we work closely with farmers and food makers, we know just how much food is going to waste every single day. And yet, there are millions of food-insecure households in the U.S.
By being committed to fighting food waste, we’ve unlocked a new way to make healthy, quality food more affordable for more people. We’re not doing it alone, though. Our direct relationships with organic farmers and sustainably minded makers play a big part.
Three years ago, when we launched as a four-person team based in Philadelphia, we were hyper-focused (and still are) on rescuing “misfit” produce (hence the name and all.) We take in high-quality organic produce that sometimes looks a little different. Fruits and veggies that are too big, too small, or just sort of funny-looking. Oftentimes, though, it’s produce that’s simply considered “surplus.”
Today, our scope has expanded to include other items you would find in a regular grocery store: cooking supplies, pantry staples, and much more. Similar to how we partner with farmers, we also work with food makers to reduce their waste. We take in their excess inventory—ranging from surplus to out-of-date packaging to short-dated items. (Short-dated means goods stamped with a “best-by” date that’s fewer than 6 weeks out.)
Organic, sustainable, and responsibly sourced are usually synonymous with paying a premium for the quality. But that’s not how we do things. We’re committed to providing quality at a value. Regardless of whether it looks a little different, our stuff is high quality and tends to be fresher than what you’d find in stores because it doesn’t hang out with middlemen or in storage.
Food insecurity takes many forms, including not having convenient access to a grocery store. Whenever we launch in a new state, we aim to serve every zip code, regardless of how urban or how rural the area is—or what the median income per household happens to be. Click here to see where we deliver.
