Hy-Vee stores in Des Moines area donate produce to Ape Initiative

Five metro Hy-Vee stores donate imperfect or soon-to-expire fruits and veggies to the Ape Initiative, Amanda Epping, a research coordinator at the trust, told Axios.

• The Hy-Vee donations have been ongoing for more than five years.
• She said that's worth about $35,000 a year to the nonprofit's Des Moines research facility — the only one in the world dedicated to the study of bonobos.

Fun fact: The animals each intake about 1,700 calories a day and generally prefer fruits over veggies, Epping said.