From farm to art: How wonky avocados are helping the fight against food waste

The perfect avocado can be hard to find.

That’s the inspiration behind Auckland photographer Adam Popovich’s latest piece.

“I think we all know the pain of cutting open an avocado that’s not ripe or overripe,” Popovich told Focus.

The Auckland photographer has teamed up with Wonky Box to capture a collection of “cosmetically-challenged” avocados with the final artwork to be auctioned for charity KiwiHarvest.

Artist Adam Popovich setting up his avocado shot. Photo / Carson Bluck

It’s all to celebrate their launch of a fruit-only box and the search for the country’s Wonkiest fruit - the winner being recently announced as an avo from Gisborne, dubbed the “sparrow-cado” for its resemblance to the common bird.

But beyond the comical fun is a more serious message about food waste.

Up to 40 per cent of produce grown in NZ doesn’t even make it off the farm - which is where Wonky’s rescue mission begins, providing a home for wrongly sized or surplus produce that could otherwise end up as waste.

“Years like last year, where we had the floods in Hawke’s Bay, it impacted us quite a lot,” Fresh Co product manager for apples and cherries Mario Selak said. “Wonky Box came to the rescue.

“The fixed costs are still the same… so still being able to make something of fruit that may have been lost is great.”

Wonky Box co-founder Angus Simms and the winning 'sparrow-cado' avocado. Photo / Carson Bluck

The 2023 Kantar New Zealand Food Waste Survey estimates the value of food waste per New Zealand household is worth about $1500 a year.

Nationally this equates to $3.2 billion dollars and is a cost Wonky Box co-founder Angus Simms hopes to help bring down.

“Food waste equates to about 4% of the global emissions in New Zealand and what’s sometimes even more shocking for people to hear is the amount of waste that happens at the start of the supply chain.

“What Wonky Box is doing really well is we’re addressing that food loss that’s happening on farms, not necessarily in consumers’ homes or households.”