A video that has garnered thousands of likes and comments since it was posted sparked outrage after one TikToker happened across two dumpsters full of food outside of a Target — with much of the food still frozen.
"We pulled up to this Target dumpster…and everything underneath the top layer was still frozen," wrote Dumpster Haulics (@dumpsterhaulics), the account that posted the video, which mainly posts dumpster diving-centric content.
Under the video, the poster wrote that it was "tens of thousands of dollars in food waste."
@dumpsterhaulics tens of thousands of dollars in food waste 😔 #dumpsterdiving #dumpsterhaulics #dumpsterdiver #ultadumpsterdiving #foodwaste #IDeserveTuitionContest ♬ Monkeys Spinning Monkeys - Kevin MacLeod & Kevin The Monkey
Unfortunately, this is not the first time that multiple dumpsters worth of clearly unspoiled food has been found outside of a Target (or similar store). When grocery stores lose power for any time, they often trash their entire perishable food supply to avoid liability issues that could crop up if any of the food went bad.
However, something is clearly wrong with store policies or the way they are carried out if they result in food that is still completely frozen being thrown away. Regardless of how long the freezers were off, if the food is frozen, it likely hasn't spoiled.
One food bank in Arkansas recently managed to save over 75,000 pounds of food after a local Kroger lost power. But sadly, that case appears to have been the exception rather than the rule.
According to the USDA, nearly one-third of the total food supply in the United States goes uneaten because of loss or food waste. Considering that 34 million people, including 9 million children, face hunger in our country, it is even more of a waste.
Additionally, food that is thrown away is sent to landfills, where it releases heat-trapping gases as it decomposes, contributing to the continued overheating of our planet.
"Sad, we have people in the United States that go to bed hungry and then we see stuff like this…wasteful," responded one commenter.
"They could go to homeless or less fortunate people," wrote another.
"Purposely creating food shortages, America is not shocked …" said a third.
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