Get Free Ice Cream In Supporting 'Imperfect Produce' In Austin

AUSTIN, TEXAS — The first 200 customers at the Burnet Road location of Lick Honest Ice Creams on Thursday, Nov. 1, will receive a free special treat: Two scoops of Spiced Sweet Potato Pie ice cream made in partnership with produce delivery service Imperfect Produce.

Imperfect Produce is a subscription-based delivery service on a mission to reduce food waste by delivering "ugly" produce to customers' door steps. The aim is to help reduce food waste by delivering produce that fails to meet the high "cosmetic" shelf standards of grocers. Patch in Austin received its first box of "ugly" produce to test out the product on Tuesday. But more about that later.

The seasonal Spiced Potato Pie ice cream incorporates house made vanilla marshmallows, a molasses cookie and Imperfect Produce sweet potatoes. Imperfect Produce and Lick Honest Ice Creams partnered around the brand’s Austin launch to celebrate a shared commitment to agricultural sustainability through delicious food.

To celebrate that partnership, on Thursday, Nov. 1, at 12:30 p.m., the Lick Honest Ice Creams’ Burnet Road location will host an ice cream social offering the first 200 customers two (2) free scoops of ice cream, including one scoop of Spiced Sweet Potato Pie and a second scoop of choice from Lick’s menu.

The Spiced Sweet Potato Pie ice cream, along with Lick’s other seasonal flavors, will be available for purchase at all Austin-area Lick locations until November 23.

Patch wanted to see for itself what this Imperfect Produce was all about, so agreed to sign up for the subscription service. In registering, Patch noticed one could choose the type of produce variety to receive. There was an all-fruits variety, all veggies, a mix of both, all organic and more. Patch opted for the fruits-veggie box, fully expecting to receive noticeably bruised produce. But what arrived was a beautiful array of good-looking fruits and veggies, leaving one to wonder just how pretty produce has to look like to meet grocers' shelf-worthy specifications. I mean, the delivered produce was lovely — a pair of apples in the mix, another couple of pears, bell peppers, limes, onions, sweet potatoes, russet potatoes, leafy greens and more.

Beyond the thrill of having produce delivered to one's door, greater satisfaction was derived in knowing one is helping to reduce food waste. Here's an astounding fact: Roughly 6 billion pounds of produce go to waste each year in the U.S. alone, after some less-than-perfect fruits and veggies are deemed not aesthetically pleasing to to warrant shelf space.

By subscribing to Imperfect Produce,one doesn't just get wonderful fruits and vegetables, but also the satisfaction in knowing that one helped reduce that food waste. As an added bonus, subscribers get produce that's 30 percent to 50 percent less in price than purchased at traditional grocery stores. Further rewards include an almost-forced commitment to eat healthful produce and helping America's farmers by consuming the fruits of their labor.

DETAILS

WHEN: Thursday, Nov. 1, 2018 | 12:30 p.m.

WHERE: Lick Honest Ice Creams
6555 Burnet Rd, #200

ABOUT IMPERFECT PRODUCE

Imperfect is a produce subscription service that sources “ugly” fruits and vegetables from farms and delivers them directly to customers’ doors. Twenty percent of all fruits and vegetables grown in the U.S. don’t adhere to the strict cosmetic standards of grocery stores, creating billions of pounds of wasted produce every year. Imperfect Produce buys the “ugly” produce directly from farms and delivers to customers’ doors
for less than grocery store prices. What started in the San Francisco Bay Area has expanded to Los Angeles, Orange County, Portland, Seattle, Chicago, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, and now San Antonio. Imperfect Produce aims to one day deliver ugly produce all over the country and be a force for good in the food industry by both reducing food waste and making healthy food more accessible for everyone. For more information on Imperfect Produce, visit www.ImperfectProduce.com.

ABOUT LICK HONEST ICE CREAMS

Lick Honest Ice Creams has been making seasonal and sustainable artisan ice creams that celebrate the flavors and culture of Texas since 2011. Free of antibiotics and added hormones, the milk and cream in Lick’s proprietary mix come from the grass-fed cows of a single-source Central Texas dairy. The other ingredients are sourced from across the Lone Star State, with a focus on Central Texas, and are grown naturally and responsibly. Every component is made from scratch in Lick’s kitchen and each pint and tub of ice cream is packed by hand. Since opening, Lick Honest Ice Creams has received praise from The New York Times, The Cooking Channel, The Food Network, GQ, Thrillist, Southern Living, Food & Wine, Tasting Table, Travel + Leisure, American Doers, and People.

The map below indicates where the Lick Honest Ice Creams along Burnet Road is located.

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>>> Top photo of produce delivered to the Austin bureau of Patch by Tony Cantú/Patch staff.