See, that's me to a T
...I volunteered at a very low overhead public food bank for a few years (pre-kids), and grocery stores would give all of the "we can't sell this anymore" produce right to the food bank if volunteers were willing to to pick it up and put it out. Some of it still looked very good...some didn't, but when you got past the looks or knew what to do, you could have all that produce for families (that they'd never be able to afford), and we (the volunteers) were taught how to help folks know what to do with it if they didn't know...to this day, I could cry when I go to a family member's fridge and see tons of wilted and dying produce that I know they are gonna throw out. Heck, at our summer BBQ last year, my sisters were literally gonna throw out the gorgeous catered veg trays at the end b/c "it might be germy now...maybe"...and I'm like "you can cook all that fresh veg in sauce or soup and it will be gorgeous b/c it's so perfect right now"...needless to say, I took those vegs home and they were loved...made 3 different cooked dishes with them...
But I also grew up on pretty much awful cooking and just cans (for produce), unless it was an apple, a banana, or an iceberg lettuce...so I also react to my own upbringing...