How Grocery Stores Contribute to Food Waste :: Move For Hunger (2024)

Food waste is a huge problem, especially in grocery stores. Americanswaste about 40%of theirfood every year. In 2008,43 billion pounds of perfectly good foodwere thrown out of grocery stores.There are several factors that contributed to this colossal amount of waste.

Misleading Labels

There is a big difference between a sell-by dateand a use-by date.When a sell-by date passes itdoesn’t mean that the food is unsafe to eat, however, many people still think that they have to toss it.Grocery stores sometimes throw away food simply because it’s gettingcloseto the sell-by date. There are several companies working to reclaim out of date food. TheDaily Tableis a non-profit grocery store in Massachusetts thatcollects food from other grocersthat is close to its sell-by date and sells it at a deeply-discounted price. This provides both food to people at low costs and keeps itfrom being thrown away.

This idea has been gaining tractionin Europe, as well. Denmark has avolunteer-run food waste supermarketand is planning on opening two more. TheReal Junk Food Projectin the UK just opened its firstfood waste supermarket, where items haveno set prices. Shoppers are allowed to pay what they can for the food.

Imperfectproduce

Produce rarely grows in a way where every plant looks the exact same. Yet in grocery stores most produce looks identical.Some food in grocery stores gets thrown out because it’s imperfect, or it doesn’t “look good.” The food is still fine to eat, but often ends up in the trash.The non-profitEnd Food Wastehas alist of retailersall over America that sell imperfect produce. They also have apetitionthat you can sign which asks major grocery stores to consider selling imperfect food.

There are also subscription services where you can get “ugly” produce delivered to your door.Imperfect ProduceandHungry Harvestare both organizations working to reclaim food that would otherwise be thrown away. This is a great way to reduce the waste of perishable foods, which food banks often can’t accept.

Consumer Action

Not all the blame for food waste belongs to grocery stores.As consumers we can help toinfluence the type of food that stores sell.By buying food in less excess, food that is close to the sell-by date, and imperfect produce, we can help reduce food waste.

Want to find out more ways to get involved in the fight against hunger? Check out ourtake action page!