Americans are notoriously picky about the appearance of their fruits and vegetables. As a result, roughly 20 percent of the produce grown in this country goes to waste, much of it never leaving the farm.

Imperfect is a company that hopes to change that.

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Started in California in 2015, Imperfect expanded to Chicago earlier this month. The company grew out of an undergrad student’s efforts to eliminate waste in his college cafeteria. Now, the company buys direct from farmers and offers home delivery of “ugly” fruits and vegetables. They say the cost to consumers is 30-50 percent less than store bought produce.

When Imperfect launched locally on Dec. 4, it offered deliveries of both organic and conventional produce to more than half of Chicago and plans to expand to more of the city and suburbs in early 2018.

Note: This story originally aired on “Chicago Tonight” on Dec. 27.

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