Retail employee exposes stockroom disaster at major big-box retailer: 'A serious ... issue'

A grocery worker's post, shared with the r/walmart community, revealed shocking amounts of produce being thrown away daily by the major retailer.

What happened?

The employee exposed a troubling trend of excessive food waste behind the scenes at Walmart. In the post, they described overwhelming amounts of produce arriving daily that can't be sold before it spoils.

"Our store has a serious overstock issue," the poster said. "... Our backrooms are so stuffed full of the same s*** they keep on sending. We have 3 pallets of strawberries because they won't stop sending more every day. We are tossing more out than we are stocking."

A worker at another store commented: "They keep sending us too many strawberries and bananas, and we had to throw out a whole pallet of bananas because it went bad. We had over 6,000 pounds of bananas at the beginning of the week."

Why is food waste concerning?

Food waste has profound implications that affect our ecosystems. When food breaks down in landfills, it spews methane, a heat-trapping gas stronger than carbon dioxide.

The environmental impact goes deeper than just disposal. The wasted resources used to grow, harvest, transport, and refrigerate these fruits never fulfill their purpose. Each banana or strawberry thrown away represents wasted water, land, energy, and human labor.

This kind of waste hits especially hard when food prices remain high and food insecurity affects millions of Americans. Perfectly good produce that could feed people rots in dumpsters instead.

Is the company doing anything about this?

Walmart has made public commitments to address food waste throughout its operations. The retailer said it diverted 83.5% of its waste from landfills in 2023.

The company has donation partnerships with food banks and uses a food recovery hierarchy that prioritizes feeding people, then animals, then turning to industrial uses before considering landfill disposal.

However, the frontline employee reports suggest Walmart may not implement these initiatives consistently. The described overflow appears to be a supply chain forecasting problem rather than an isolated incident, as multiple employees reported the same issue.

What's the most common reason you end up throwing away food? Bought more than I could eat 🛒 Went bad sooner than I expected 👎 Forgot it was in the fridge 😞 Didn't want leftovers 🥡 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

What's being done about grocery food waste more broadly?

Many companies, such as Misfits Market, have imperfect produce programs in which they sell blemished fruits and vegetables at reduced prices. These initiatives help prevent waste while offering customers more affordable options.

Food rescue organizations including Feeding America partner with retailers to collect excess food before it spoils, too. Its network saves billions of pounds of food annually that would otherwise be thrown away.

Several states have passed organic waste bans that prevent large food waste generators from sending food to landfills. These policies encourage better inventory management and more donations.

You can help by supporting grocers with clear food waste reduction policies, buying "ugly" produce, and planning your own shopping carefully to reduce household waste.

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