Food-saving sharing restaurant opens market: consumers get up close with imperfect fruits and vegetables

To reduce the waste of fruits and vegetables at the production source, the New Taipei City Agriculture Department is promoting the "Food-saving Sharing Restaurant" program, matching food and beverage operators with "imperfect fruits and vegetables" so that healthy, nutritious produce is not wasted just because its appearance does not meet market standards. Since joining the program, "Yuan Tsui Vegan Kitchen" in Xindian has not only regularly used imperfect carrots as ingredients for various dishes in the restaurant, but has also bought various imperfect fruits and vegetables from farmers to display and sell in the store. They even hold a "Small Farmer Artisan Market" in the store on the last Saturday of every month, giving the public a chance to meet farmers face to face.

Ke Shih-yu and Chien Hsuan-hung, founders of Yuan Tsui Vegan Kitchen, originally worked at the same food and beverage company. Both love food, and feeling that they usually ate too many processed products and chemically modified foods, they hoped to enjoy a healthy diet in daily life. In addition, Chien Hsuan-hung has experience as a baker and is passionate about using various ingredients to create new dishes, so together they founded Yuan Tsui Vegan Kitchen with the philosophy of "extracting the original flavor of every fresh ingredient for cooking." They insist on using fresh fruits and vegetables in their dishes and actively reach out to farmers who advocate natural, friendly, or organic farming methods, bringing more good ingredients to customers through restaurant dishes and the small farmer market.

Agriculture Department Director Li Wen stated that there are currently 31 "Food-saving Sharing Restaurants" in the Taipei and New Taipei areas. These operators all have unique philosophies about saving food. In addition to using imperfect produce in dishes, choosing seasonal local fruits and vegetables, buying organic or friendly crops, and encouraging the public to "clean their plates" or take leftovers home are all reflections of the spirit of saving food. "Yuan Tsui Vegan Kitchen" is located at 1F, No. 2, Lane 58, Bao'an Street, Xindian District, New Taipei City, telephone (02) 8914-7185; operators interested in joining the Food-saving Sharing Restaurant program can contact Mr. Zeng at the Agriculture Department (contact telephone: 2960-3456 ext. 3124). The public can also visit the "New Taipei Food-saving Sharing Network" (website: http://surplus-food.ntpc.gov.tw/) to follow other Food-saving Sharing Restaurants and learn more about saving food.