What happens
to All the Irregular Foods from Grocery Stores?
Let me make something straight right from the outset; most
grocery stores do a bang-up job minimizing waste associated with expired, old
or irregular foods. But, it happens - grocery stores have to deal with
irregular foods. You see, when they close their doors, night shift workers
spring into action to remove all the irregular, expired, and old food items
from the shelves.
So, what eventually
happens to these irregular foods?
Thrown Away
Grocery stores examine each food item to see if it is still
worth staying on the shelves. A portion of irregular foods, however, is
certainly thrown into the garbage. That means these foods end up in our
landfills. For most grocery stores, this is a last resort measure after
exploring other avenues.
Cooked and
Prepared for In-Store Deli
Surprisingly, some grocery stores often prepare irregular
foods like fresh meats, fruits, and veggies for their salad counters and
in-store delis. It will help them recoup some profits and reduce food wastage.
By doing so, these supermarkets are being environmentally friends and
cost-effective.
Donated to
Food Banks
According to Feeding America, there has been an increase of
40% in the demand of emergency food assistance in the past couple of years.
That’s where food banks across the country come in handy. Accordingly, grocery
stores donate most of its irregular foods to food banks. The good news is that
FDA approves and even encourages this approach.
You see, expiring dates are only a mark of when the food is at
its optimum quality, but it doesn’t imply that it is unsafe for human
consumption.
That is why food banks are taking in all kinds of irregular foods, from canned
beans to deli meats.
Sold to
Salvage Stores
Interestingly, most irregular foods find a second home. That
is where salvage stores come in especially useful. They buy irregular, damaged,
out of season foods from grocery stores to sell them at unbelievably low
prices. Salvage grocery stores take advantage of this and make a few bucks
from vending by selling past-their-prime and irregular foods discarded by
conventional grocery stores.
Salvage grocery stores are indeed pretty awesome. They make sure
that otherwise good food doesn’t end up in landfills. More than that, their low
prices implies that low-income families can also enjoy nutritious meals.
Given to
Homeless People
Have you ever wondered where the people who scrounge outside
grocery stores get their healthy foods? Wonder no more - they are generously
given irregular foods by the supermarkets. Be kind and generous and make useful and environmentally friendly decisions with these foods.
