How You Can Help Prevent Food Waste (and Feed Others While Doing It!)

Food waste in the United States is estimated at a whopping 31% of the food supply which equates to around 133 billion pounds and $161 billion worth of food in 2010 according to the USDA's Economic Research Service. The societal impacts of this means that food that could have helped feed needy families is sent to the landfill, not to mention all the energy and resources used towards making the food and then having it sent to the landfill instead. 

What is causing this staggering amount of food loss and waste? There are many reasons, including spoilage at every stage of production and storage issues during supply chain movement. But one of the biggest reasons, especially here at TC Farm, is the printed "Best By Date" on the packaging. "More than 80 percent of Americans discard perfectly good food because they misunderstand expiration labels," states the RTS Food Waste Guide. Many people assume that this date means you shouldn't consume the product beyond that date and that is not true. The Best By Date simply indicates that the manufacturer recommends this product is freshest before the printed date and is not an indicator of spoilage. Due to this erroneous assumption, we have had to pull these products off the shelves at TC Farm because consumers won't purchase them, leading to a huge loss in food, energy and resources.

Now there are products that shouldn't be used beyond the date printed on the package and these products are marked with "Expires On" or "Use By" dates. Most of these products are refrigerated dairy items and they must be discarded if not consumed by those dates as they could pose a threat to consumer health. We order just enough of these types of products to sell through within a 2 week period and sometimes, you will find that we are out of stock more often on dairy items due to these standards.

Starting in October, we are going to start offering specially curated bundles of surprise grocery products that may be close to or past their printed "Best By Dates". Each bundle will include enough products for 2-3 people and will be themed: gluten-free, beverages only, dairy free, etc. These bundles will be priced at 30-40% off the retail price and includes a 15% donation to the TC Feeds Foundation, ensuring that our local families in need will continue to receive free groceries as long as they need them.