10 easy ways to help your supermarket reduce their food waste

There’s no doubt about it: supermarkets waste a lot of food. Out-of-date products, broken and ripped packaging, mouldy fruit… and that’s just the start. There are dozens of reasons why our favourite foods end up in the trash. The retail industry still has a long way to go when it comes to avoiding food waste. However, all is not lost… did you know there’s a lot you can do to help supermarkets reduce their food waste? Here are 10 easy ways to help your supermarket reduce their food waste.

Don’t: look for the perfect date

Sometimes I see people dive into the refrigerators to get the product at the back with the longest shelf life. Don’t! This will only result in the products with the shortest expiry date being discarded because they’re not sold on time. Instead, buy products with the shortest shelf lives and use them as soon as possible.

Do: fungus fetish

Every now and then, there’s a tray of grapes with one mouldy grape. When the supermarket employee sees this, the chances are the product will be taken and discarded, regardless of the other grapes in the package being perfectly fine. What a waste! When I realised this, I decided from then on to always look for that tray with the one mouldy grape and buy it. As soon as I get home, I pick out the rotten grape, rinse the others with cold water and pat myself on the back for being a grape-saviour before I eat them. This tip also applies to products like strawberries, berries, tangerines and cherry tomatoes.

Do: buy five, pay six

Okay, I admit this doesn’t sound too attractive. Why would you buy five pieces of something and pay for six? Well, for the sake of being a true food rescuer! Let me ask you: how often do you come across a box of eggs and one of them has a broken shell? Now, try to imagine all of those boxes going straight in the bin whenever someone finds out there’s a single broken egg inside. Yes, that includes all the eggs that are perfectly fine too. Whenever I get a box of eggs, even if one’s broken, I still take them. At the checkout, I explain why I choose to take this box and not exchange it for another one. Often, they couldn’t care less, but every now and then I get the entire box for free – that certainly makes up for all the broken eggs I paid for but didn’t get to enjoy!

Do: broken bread

In the Netherlands, we’ve got this thing we call ‘bread for breaking’. These are small buns that are stuck together, so you can pull your own little piece when they’re being served, but this is not what I’m getting at here. I’m talking about broken bread. You know those pre-baked breads and baguettes you get in supermarkets? There’s always a bunch of them that will never be sold just because they’re broken in two. Think about it; what is the first thing you do after you take the bread from the oven? You cut it, right? So why not buy broken bread next time? It still tastes the same, and often it’s discounted too – win-win!

Do: choose the damaged items

Sometimes, pre-packaged foods with damaged packaging end up for sale. But most of the time, they just end up in the bin. Whenever I see a damaged or dented package of a product I need, I always choose to take that one. After all, the taste isn’t going to be affected and often the product is discounted.

Do: ugly is beautiful

Don’t judge a fruit or vegetable by its cover. The shape doesn’t say anything about the flavour. In fact, when I grow cucumbers myself, they’re never as perfectly shaped as you would get them in the supermarket, but my crooked cucumbers actually taste much better!
If you’re lucky, your supermarket is already selling wonky veggies and imperfect fruits. If they do offer these products, buy them! You need to show your supermarket that you love imperfect products. If supermarkets see that their customers don’t care about shape, but only about the flavour, they will keep selling them. If your market doesn’t sell them already, ask why all the cucumbers are straight and the bell peppers the same size. Ask them what happened to the crooked ones. Every time I come across a carrot with two legs, it makes my day!

Don’t: request the unknown

Some supermarkets are happy to add products to their product range if you simply ask them to. Wait! Don’t get too excited about requesting that exotic bread fruit juice you liked so much during your last holiday in Jamaica. The problem with these kinds of requests is that they’re too specific and you’re likely to be the only one buying them. That, of course, means that the stock that is left over will most likely expire.
At my local supermarket I was very surprised to suddenly find big packages of fresh tamarind. I was wondering who would buy those, since from my experience most people don’t even know what it is. A few weeks later, all the boxes were still there, until that one day they were all gone. Someone must really love tamarind, or the products expired and were binned.

Do: buy orphaned bananas

Orphaned bananas are those that are torn from the bunch and left all by themselves. Nobody wants them, and nobody cares. As crazy as it might sounds, but I always collect all the lonely bananas and buy them instead of a whole bunch. Usually, the single bananas get left behind, turn brown and end up in that notorious waste bin.

Do: love discounts

A lot of shops sell products that are about to reach their expiry dates with big discounts. So why not look for those discounted veggies first, and then decide what to eat tonight. Who doesn’t love a discount, right?

Do: tell them what you think

Big supermarket chains will only change their policy when their customers force them to do so. Write them an email, send a message on Facebook, or talk to your local supermarket manager about what you think is important. Ask them what they are doing to prevent food waste now, and then make some suggestions for future improvements. If enough people share their concerns, they will feel like they need to make a positive change.

Reduce the food waste in your kitchen

In the Netherlands, I’m known as the Queen of leftovers. I wrote a cookbook called ‘Lekker koken met restjes’. Since this is in Dutch and chances are that you are not, please check out the Waste-Free Kitchen Handbook: A Guide to Eating Well and Saving Money By Wasting Less Food by my English writing colleague Dana Gunders. Stop wasting food ánd money! 🙂