A TikTok clip showing a fleet of shopping carts overflowing with groceries at a major chain store enraged users for reasons that were immediately evident.
What's happening?
TheGreeneBeans (@thegreenebeans) captured the shocking footage at an unspecified Target location.
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"I can't believe Target let all this food go to waste," the caption stated.
The video's thumbnail was upsetting enough, showing so many bright red carts — each overloaded with groceries — that it was impossible to count them.
Then the panning started.
Behind the carts, several crates large enough to hold a number of people were similarly packed to the top with uneaten, unsold food items. The user turned, capturing even more carts outside of the frame.
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"Why can't they just give it away or [put it on] clearance!" a commenter lamented.
"That should be against the law; people need food," another wrote.
"Why can't they give it to people? … People are homeless. That is not right. … Lotta hungry people out there," a third person said.
Someone else asserted that the situation was not uncommon: "If you think only Target [does] this, you aren't ready to hear the rest of the stores that do this also."
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Definitely 👍 Why is Target's food waste so important?
Food security and access have been top of mind recently as the government shutdown has threatened the disbursement of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits.
Corporate food waste has sparked concern in recent years as well, in part because social media makes it easier to document and share instances.
In May, Feeding America released alarming statistics about food insecurity in the United States: 1 in 5 children were "experiencing food insecurity," a rate that shot up to 50% in certain regions.
On Oct. 8, Washington Monthly warned of a worsening hunger crisis. The outlet reported that food insecurity leapt from 10.5% to 13.5% from 2020 to 2023 — statistics which antedated massive spending cuts.
In addition to federal anti-hunger initiative reductions, mass layoffs affected nearly a quarter of a million government employees, a figure that does not account for private-sector layoffs. In late October, several major corporations announced they planned to cut tens of thousands of jobs.
Food waste isn't just a hunger problem, either. A 2024 U.N. report indicated that food waste was responsible for roughly 10% of all planet-warming pollution, at a cost of $1 trillion annually.
Is Target doing anything about this?
According to Target, yes.
On its website, a sustainability and governance section titled "Waste Elimination & Reduction" asserted that the company met its goal to "reduce operational food waste by 50% … from a 2017 baseline," but it didn't elaborate.
Target stated that recycling and composting programs were in place at 1,680 of its roughly 2,100 facilities.
In 2023, "we donated 154.8 million pounds of food, which is equivalent to 113 million meals," Target said.
But, absent figures on food waste prevalence, those numbers painted an incomplete picture.
What's being done about food waste more broadly?
Several commenters speculated that the Target in question experienced an equipment failure or power outage, ostensibly forcing the chain's hand.
Food donations can be logistically complex, as donated food must be safe to eat, and issues such as a malfunctioning freezer can hasten spoilage.
However, individual Kroger and Trader Joe's locations have dispatched food at risk of spoilage to food banks during outages, showing that it's possible even in a brief timeframe.
Target's sustainability page also mentioned composting — an approach that can divert even inedible or spoiled food from landfills and is feasible at scale.
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