In recent years, more attention has been brought to the issue that grocery stores and restaurants often throw out excess food rather than give it to those in need — and that even extends to some of your favorite chains.
One user took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to share a photo of a garbage can full of food at Aldi — and that wasn't even the worst part.
The garbage can was actually being guarded by security to ensure that no one would take the food inside, the caption confirmed.
Food waste from Aldi today in North London .
— Endemomium (@Mxpltz1) November 13, 2021
Guarded by security I was told that it was being thrown away .please consider retweeting pic.twitter.com/tBbNA7Z6xu
Many restaurants and grocery stores do this — customers have found whole bags of baguettes headed for the trash, garbage cans full of prepackaged sandwiches, and dumpsters full of donuts.
According to Business Insider, there's a few reasons for this — mainly, liability and storage. Many establishments are afraid of being sued if someone gets sick from food that is being tossed, despite the passing of the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act, which protects them from liability.
In addition, many stores don't have the space to store the excess food while it waits to be picked up for donation.
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However, it hardly seems like throwing out so much good food is the right option — even if it's past the sell-by or best-by date, it might still be edible.
Many confuse these dates with expiration dates — which indicate when the food will be spoiled by. Best-by and sell-by dates, however, just indicate that the product will be the most fresh before that date, or that the grocery store should sell it by that date to guarantee a reasonable amount of time to eat it.
According to Feeding America, around 40% of all the food in the U.S. is thrown out each year, making it the top contributor to landfills. Meanwhile, over 44 million people find themselves struggling to put food on the table in the U.S.
With laws like the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act in place, there's no reason for this to be the case. A few programs such as the "Too Good to Go" app — which helps to sell grocery store and restaurant leftovers at a discounted price — are attempting to bridge this gap, but we can certainly do better.
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One X user, who had the right attitude, commented, "They should set up a giveaway table … I'm popping in there tomorrow to challenge them."
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