Every day, store and restaurant employees across the country throw away tons of safe, edible, delicious food. Many of these employees would like to donate that food to those in need, but are forced to follow company policies that result in them throwing out or sometimes intentionally ruining the food.
One Reddit user posted on r/antiwork about what happens if workers break the rules.
what happened?
The original poster related the story of a friend, a foster care resident, who was fired from her job for eating food that was destined for waste.
“A friend of mine from high school was fired from his job in the hot bar department at Meijer after a year there,” the poster said.
Like many of its peers, Meijer frequently has unsold food.
“Typically at the end of the day, we would end up throwing out pounds of unsold fresh produce, and because he was really hungry, he ate two chicken strips from the pile of discarded produce,” they further explained.
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Why is it important for Meijer to waste food?
Every day, all of that food goes to waste, serving no purpose to the company or to hungry people in the community. Some of the people who could benefit most are store employees, who often work at or near minimum wage and may struggle to afford the same food they prepare and serve every day.
“I think it's completely ridiculous that pounds of fresh food are wasted every day in a place like this,” the poster said. “Is anyone else upset about this?”
In addition to starving people, this practice also harms the environment: the more food that is wasted, the more new food must be produced to meet demand, using land, water and other non-infinite resources.
🗣️ What is your biggest motivation for trying to reduce your personal food waste? 🔘 Save money 💰 🔘 Help the planet 🌎 🔘 Not wasting anything 😇 🔘 I've never thought about reducing food waste 🤷 🗳️ To see your results, click on your selection and give your opinion
Is Meijer doing anything about food waste?
Meyer has set ambitious goals when it comes to food waste.
“The reality is that we can't prevent all food waste, but we can divert it from happening,” the company says on its website, explaining its “Food Rescue” program, which sends donations to food banks.
In addition, “At our stores, [their] We recycle food waste (food scraps and spoiled food) into animal feed and compost to nourish local soil and keep it out of landfills.”
But apparently some food still ends up in the trash.
What measures are being taken to address food waste more broadly?
As the OP said, Meijer has options for how it handles its unsold food each day.
“Restaurant managers or those working in food services should consider asking their management to use the 'Too Good To Go' app. It's free for users and restaurant owners to use, so there's honestly no reason not to use it,” they said.
Individuals can also contribute by composting their food waste and using apps like Too Good To Go and Flashfood, making the most of leftovers and only buying what they can eat.
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