New employee stunned after learning about upsetting grocery store policy: 'It's a complete waste'

Food waste is a persistent issue in supermarkets, but store policies often make it difficult for businesses to donate or discount unsold items. 

One new employee at the British chain Marks & Spencer recounted a frustrating experience with wasted food in the r/MarksAndSpencer subreddit.

What happened?

In their post, the employee indicated that the store they worked in had recently opened.

Despite significant food waste, however, managers refused to allow employees to take food home, instructing them to throw it out. 

The original poster continued, "I don't understand why you can't take it if it's going to go in the bin anyways … the food is perfectly good to eat."

Commenters understood the employee's exasperation with store policies, but cited a potentially justified reason for them. 

"Because it's against company policy and classed as theft, you will be sacked for gross misconduct for taking anything," one commented. "It's a complete waste to throw away food that's perfectly safe to eat, but that's the rules."

"To prevent staff from deliberately ensuring items going out of date so that they can take them home for free," another speculated. 

"Why can't they send it to a local homeless shelter or women's refuge?" a third wondered. "It's better to give it to people in need than bin it!"

Why is food waste concerning?

Food waste is a complex issue, because food must be deemed safe for consumption before it's donated.

Should companies be required to help recycle their own products? Definitely 👍 No way 👎 It depends on the product 🤔 They should get tax breaks instead 💰 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

As such, some stores opt not to donate, not just for liability concerns, but because it's usually cheaper and easier to simply discard it. 

However, this ultimately costs businesses and consumers in the long run, as it drives up food prices. KC Can Compost noted that it usually hits customers harder, as food waste can be tax deductible, incentivizing grocers to offset some losses. 

Recycle Track Systems reported that the world wastes nearly three billion tons of food annually, with the United States being the largest contributor. 

The U.S. discards approximately 60 billion tons of food each year, 16 billion pounds of which come from grocery stores. 

At the same time, it's estimated that around 35 million Americans face food insecurity. 

Is Marks & Spencer doing anything about this?

The company has addressed food waste by donating more than 100 million meals to charities over the last decade.

Marks & Spencer does so through its partnership with the food redistribution platform Neighbourly, its work with suppliers and customers to reduce food waste, and its use of technology to better monitor expiration dates.

One commenter suggested that Marks & Spencer could still be recovering from a major cyberattack in April 2025, which resulted in an estimated annual profit loss of over $400 million, potentially impacting its ability to donate or discount certain items. 

That could explain why employees were instructed to discard the unsold food. 

What's being done about food waste more broadly?

Trader Joe's and Kroger locations have donated or given away perishable food that would otherwise have gone to waste due to power outages.

Those incidents demonstrated that, despite strict laws governing food donations, stores can donate food, even on short notice.

At home, consumers can reduce food waste by composting leftovers, which can also serve as fertilizer for gardens — a win-win for the environment and your wallet.

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