Delivery worker sounds off on disturbing pattern in meal-kit services around the US: 'I just kept shaking my head'

A delivery worker sparked outrage online after sharing their experience watching "hundreds upon hundreds of boxes of food just going bad."

Posting to the r/Anticonsumption subreddit, the Redditor described working part-time in a warehouse that processed meal-kit deliveries.

"Today it was over 100°F (38°C) and we would open the empty trailers and gusts of heat would whoosh out," the Redditor shared. "... People are ordering from food services … and the food is sitting in hot trucks for hours.

"It's all going to be bad."

Redditors rushed to the comments to express their dismay. 

"Idk why it's even legal to ship food in not-refrigerated trucks," said one. "This is a food safety nightmare." 

"The issue is really caused by the popularity of these products," added another.

The post highlighted the vast amounts of food waste that businesses generate every day. 

In the United States, we waste a staggering 30% to 40% of the food we produce, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

In 2023, 73.9 million tons of food worth a total of $382 billion was wasted in the U.S., according to the nonprofit ReFED. This comes out to a staggering 442 pounds of wasted food per person. 

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All of this wasted food is bad for business, bad for the environment, and inexcusable in a country where, according to the USDA, one out of five children doesn't know where their next meal will come from.  

Thankfully, there are steps that can be taken to reduce waste at every level of the food distribution system. 

According to ReFED, 43% of food waste occurs at the household level and 40% takes place at consumer-facing businesses, while farms produce just 16% of food waste and manufacturers only 2%.

To combat food waste at grocery stores and restaurants, places like California have enacted laws requiring that certain businesses donate a minimum percentage of all unused food to local nonprofits and food banks.

Some grocery stores have taken the initiative of donating food that otherwise would have gone to waste because of power outages. 

Advocating for similar laws where they do not already exist and volunteering for food-distribution programs like food banks and soup kitchens are great ways to limit waste while fighting hunger in your community.

Further, the fact that more than two-fifths of food waste takes place in our own households means that we hold the power to significantly reduce food waste simply by changing our own behaviors. 

One of the simplest ways to prevent food waste is to learn how to do more with your leftovers, which also saves you money on food.

Similarly, just being more thoughtful about your grocery-purchasing decisions is another great way to limit the amount of food you ultimately toss out while lowering your grocery bill. 

When you must dispose of food, making sure it ends up in the compost instead of a landfill can make a big difference in reducing its environmental impact. 

As for the OP, what they observed at their part-time job left them dismayed. 

"It'll get refunded, they'll get more food, but I just keep shaking my head at the waste," they said. 

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