A Subway worker has sparked an online discussion after sharing a photo that shows a pile of perfectly edible (albeit slightly "imperfect") cookies being thrown away — all because they're damaged.
The post surfaced on Reddit's r/subway community, where the image shows about a dozen cookies sitting on parchment paper, visibly broken but otherwise good to eat. The caption read: "it breaks my heart throwing these in the waste bin instead of my mouth."
Throwing away unsold (or unsellable) items is a common business practice, especially when strict brand standards dictate that any product not meeting visual guidelines must be tossed. Employees say their hands are tied because company policies often leave little room for discretion — even when food is safe to consume. With rising food prices and food insecurity affecting millions around the world, tossing food over minor cosmetic issues feels especially wasteful.
The U.S. EPA estimates that around 30-40% of the nation's food supply is wasted each year, leaving behind a trail of environmental consequences. When food ends up in landfills, it also contributes to methane pollution, a planet-warming gas.
That said, food donation is complicated. Items must meet safety standards, and liability concerns often shape corporate rules. Still, there are solutions businesses turn to, including donating programs, employee take-home programs, or offering discounted "imperfect" items to customers. Apps like Too Good To Go also help people save money while rescuing food.
Commenters were quick to empathize.
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One wrote, "I'm a manager and i let my co workers grab a cookie even if it ain't expired yet. cause everyday we only sell about 14 cookies at most, so a majority of the cookies get wasted. I've thrown out over 20 cookies before, it sucks to waste food that could be eaten."
However, some bad apples can ruin it for the bunch by abusing generous policies.
One commenter wrote: "You can only do this if you can trust all of your coworkers. Too many people accidentally 'ruin' food, or make too much, when they can take it home afterwards. … When my old company changed this policy, waste dropped substantially. It sucked not to be able to bring extra food home, but the owners were struggling to make ends meet so I didn't begrudge them trying to find ways to reduce waste."
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