Food waste is a global issue, and many grocery chains strive to address this by donating food or offering discounts on items when possible.
A Publix shopper sparked a heated discussion about food waste after sharing the store's frustrating food disposal policies with the r/Publix subreddit.
What happened?
The original poster explained that they'd attempted to buy food from the deli, but the employee said they stop selling cooked food items at 8 p.m. A photo uploaded by the OP showed a case full of fried chicken, which was presumably what they wanted to buy.
When the customer asked what they did with all the unsold food, the worker unfortunately said it had to be thrown away.
"A lot of stuff gets thrown away. Publix is extremely wasteful," one person commented.
Others noted that this wasn't exactly unusual, as most grocers and restaurants must follow certain guidelines to ensure their food is safe for consumption.
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"This is standard procedure at pretty much any establishment that serves food," another shared.
"Food is held by time. If the time passed, it can't be sold," someone else said. "Food safety standards. If it has time left, it should be bagged and placed in the self serve."
Why is food waste concerning?
Food waste is a significant problem worldwide; in the United States, Feeding America reported that nearly 40% of food is unsold or uneaten, resulting in approximately 92 billion pounds of food going to waste each year. Meanwhile, 47 million people, including one in five children, suffer from food insecurity.
If the food isn't donated or used for compost, it most likely ends up in landfills, where it releases planet-warming gases that contribute to rising global temperatures. Feeding America stated that around 8% of all global carbon pollution comes from food waste. In addition, growing food requires tons of resources, such as land, water, fertilizer, and labor, all of which are squandered when food doesn't get sold and consumed.
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Definitely 👍 Is Publix doing anything about this?
According to the company's sustainability page, "waste intolerance is one of our core beliefs." It works to divert food waste from landfills by turning by-products from manufacturing plants into animal feed; in 2024, these policies resulted in nearly 60 million pounds of food waste by-products being repurposed.
Publix also donates perishable foods such as meats, dairy, produce, and baked goods that are still safe to eat to Feeding America member food banks and other nonprofits. Since 2009, the grocery chain has donated more than 1 billion pounds of fresh food to charities through these efforts.
As for the fried chicken at the poster's location, there's likely little the employee could've done to prevent waste because of the strict food safety policies. However, the store could reduce the amount of food they cook later in the day or bag items for self-service before reaching the cutoff point to minimize waste.
What's being done about food waste more broadly?
Other big-box stores, such as Trader Joe's and Kroger, have donated or given away thousands of dollars' worth of food when their freezers malfunctioned during a storm-induced power outage, proving that companies can rescue food as long as it's deemed safe for consumption.
Composting is also a great way to reduce waste at home, and you can use the leftovers as fertilizer for your garden — a double win for your wallet and the planet.
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