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It is estimated that 43 billion pounds of food is thrown out by grocery stores in America each year, according to a study done by the National Resource Defense Council, an international environmental advocacy group with over three million members across the nation. In rural towns like those in Navajo County where the annual median per capita income is $17,685 and 26.4 percent of the county’s population lives in poverty, it brings the impact of such waste front and center.
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Recently it was discovered that in the Holbrook Safeway store, sealed and packaged deli meats are discarded once they pass the “sell by” date noted on the packaging. In one example, an entire cart of hot dogs, sandwich meats and other noticeably viable food products were removed from the shelves to be thrown away in a dumpster.
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Holbrook Safeway Manager Greg Duran was asked why the products are discarded rather than donated. Duran explained that they (the employees) are not allowed to donate or sell anything past it’s “sell by,” “best by” or expired dates. “We actually have facilities that pick up from us. The Bread of Life Mission, the Love Kitchen and even Catholic Charities picks up from us once in a while. We donate everything that is still usable but not out of expiration date, we cannot donate anything that’s expired.”
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He confirmed that they do take measures to avoid as much waste as possible. “We do day checks for dairy, milk and meat but if it’s expired, we cannot donate it. Produce we don’t donate but ranchers and farmers come and take it to feed their cattle or pigs. We try to have as little waste as possible, we know there is a demand for this stuff.”
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After speaking with Duran, a follow up interview was done with Assistant Manager Georgiana Carr who explained the ordering processes and how products end up in the expired category. “We have to keep our shelves full because we never know what’s going to happen with our sales. We try to do the best we can. When it starts getting close to its expiration, we mark it down or we donate it but once it expires, we have to get rid of it.”
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Further explaining the obstacles the store faces in a rural area, Carr said, “We do what is called a pre-book and we order up to a month in advance. So, sometimes we have to order a little bit extra because we don’t know how the sales are going to be. Sometimes, we expect only so many sales but our sales are way higher and we run out of stuff.”
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Since neither state nor Federal laws require date labeling on any food product aside from eggs and baby formula, it remains uncertain as to why sealed products that are noted with a “sell by” date and not spoiled could not be donated to a needy organization rather than discarded. According to the US Department of Agriculture, manufacturers provide dating to help consumers and retailers decide when food is of best quality. Except for infant formula, dates are not an indicator of the product’s safety and are not required by Federal law.
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Cherise Merrick with the Bread of Life Mission in Holbrook explained the need by the services they provide. “We serve between 24,000 to 25,000 meals a year.” She said that other local food banks have had to increase the days per week they offer food boxes in the area due to the overwhelming need of food, adding “There is a lot of food insecurity in this area.”
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The mission’s food budget is very small and it takes networking between organizations such as the mission and Catholic Charities in order to meet the needs. To supplement, those working at the mission also go to the food banks in Flagstaff once a month. Merrick said that meat was the most challenging to get and was asked if she would accept the deli meats after the “sell by” date, she said that she believes it is still viable for consumption and would.
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Safeway’s headquarters, Albertsons Companies, was contacted and Nancy Keane with the Public Affairs and Governmental Services Department was asked regarding the waste. The response was a request for employee names and a statement that a photo taken of removed deli meats was in violation of policy. In a later email response, Keane stated, “We’re looking into this situation to gather more information. What we can tell you is that daily we strive to donate food items that are within code and safe for people to eat. This food is donated to local food banks, pantries and other organizations that assist people in need.”
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She went on to note that Albertson stores have, over the years, fed millions of families with donated food and that their efforts were recognized by Feeding America as a Visionary Partner for the contributions. She also noted that in Holbrook and surrounding communities, recipients of their food donation program include Catholic Charities, The Love Kitchen, Bread of Life Mission and local ranchers. “We work closely with local health departments and follow strict food safety guidelines to maintain the highest food safety standards,” she added. Further inquiries to Keane regarding the company’s specific policy regarding the waste of unspoiled food was not responded to as of press time.
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