Ugly vegetables,truly beautiful jars.

It started with a class called “Farm to Market.”

It all started with an idea to challenge the notion that produce needs to be perfect. A carrot has more that one root? Toss it. That tomato is a tad over ripe? No thank you. Not only is that food wasted, it’s time, money, water and energy wasted. It needs to stop.

In the Fall of 2016, Vanessa Walsten — who hailed from the wilds of Kalispell — and Vanessa Williamson — from the farmlands of Eastern North Dakota — found themselves in an interdisciplinary course at Montana State University titled “Farm to Market.” Their mission: create a value-added product for a local farmer.

With Walsten’s love for fermentation leading the way, they concocted Radish Kimchi, Dill Sauerkraut, and Spicy Carrot Chips. In December 2017, the first jar was sold. Today the Vanessas are on a mission — to #savetheveggies, one imperfect produce at a time.