Food waste is a growing problem. Worldwide, about one-third of food is wasted, while over 2 billion people struggle to put food on the table.
There are many ways individuals can cut down on food waste, but it can be more difficult for businesses. Some companies, however, have stunned customers with their stores' food waste policies.
1. Everything goes at Trader Joe's
In the face of a power outage, a situation that typically leaves a store's dumpsters full to the brim with frozen and refrigerated food, Trader Joe's found a solution that sent nothing to the trash.
As showcased by a lucky customer who happened to be in the right place at the right time, the store made sure that all that food got to people who could use it by giving away everything that was still frozen or cold for free to customers in the store.
2. Kroger for the community
When severe storms left thousands of residents of one Arkansas community without power, the local food bank saved and delivered over 60,000 meals to those in need.
The rescued food came from a local Kroger in North Little Rock that had also lost power. Had the two entities not worked together, the nearly 80,000 pounds of frozen and refrigerated food in the Kroger would have ended up in the trash rather than in the communities that needed it.
3. Trader Joe's is for the birds
In an instance of saving unsold seasonal products from wreaking havoc on our landfills, Trader Joe's proved that it is for the birds. Well, the birds and the goats and the pigs.
This was demonstrated by a Trader Joe's store that, after trying to donate the items to a local food bank but finding it full, donated two full bins of unsold pumpkins to a local farmer, cowboymax (@cowboymax), to help him feed his livestock. He shared a video with the animals happily dining on the unexpected meal.
4. A perfect solution for imperfect food
A Fair Price market in Virginia was shown living up to its name, at least where less-than-perfect produce is concerned.
A pleased shopper shared photos of the discounted goods in a Reddit post. In one, a mix of veggies is grouped together in one bag marked at $2.00 for all of it, while a second snapped image shows a bag of bananas labeled imperfect and presumably also discounted. It all seems like a perfect solution to a significant problem.
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5. Too Good To Go
In a case that seems too good to be true, the Too Good To Go app is keeping unsold food from restaurants and stores out of landfills by selling it at ridiculously low prices.
Launched in Denmark in 2015, Too Good To Go has spread across Europe and come to the United States. Through the app, customers can get a "surprise bag" of excess food from restaurants and grocery stores for up to half price. To date, the app has saved over 300 million meals from landfills worldwide.
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