Meijer pilots program aimed at reducing in-store food waste

Meijer is doing its part to reduce in-store food waste.

The retailer is piloting an app at several of its metro Detroit supercenters that allows customers to purchase food nearing its best-buy date at a reduced price.

Shoppers can purchase such items as meat, produce, seafood, deli and bakery products on the Flashfood app at 50% off, and then pick them up at the Brighton, Waterford, Commerce and Howell locations.

“Food is at the core of what we do, and we are constantly looking at ways to minimize in-store waste because it’s the right thing to do for our communities and our customers,” Don Sanderson, the group vice president of Fresh for Meijer, said. “We are excited to work with Flashfood and learn how much food can be spared from landfills.” 

Canadian-based Flashfood allows retailers to upload a surplus of close-dated foods to the app for purchase, the company said.

“Bringing the Metro Detroit community the ability to buy such great food at huge discounts while reducing food waste is exciting. Meijer is a well-respected market leader focusing on innovation and it’s evident through our partnership. Both teams are thrilled about the impact we’re bringing to market in this pilot,” Josh Domingues, the founder and CEO of Flashfood said.

In addition to the pilot, Meijer also has a Food Rescue program that has donated more than 10.6 million pounds of food in 2018 to local food banks, the company said.

“Reducing food waste is an important goal at Meijer,” Erik Petrovskis, the director of environmental compliance and sustainability for Meijer, said. “There are creative solutions throughout a food’s life cycle that can reduce landfill use and production of greenhouse gases, and I’m pleased we’re looking at another in-store option that benefits our customers.”