New Food Store Concept from Ex-President of Trader Joe's

[uromac]

FYI:

Just heard about the new concept from the ex-president of Trader Joe's repurposing food and selling items just past their sell by dates. Interesting idea as their is so much waste that is probably still good, and I know I'm always wondering if something is still good or bad.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/20...esident-to-turn-expired-food-into-cheap-meals

 

[runwad]

My grocery store used to do this with produce but have since stopped in the past couple of months and I miss it. It was quite a savings. They'd mark stuff down 40-50% off the regular price. I'd go and buy as much as I could and come home and cook the day away. You then could freeze anything you couldn't eat. I used to get 8 oz of sliced mushrooms for 59 cents a carton. I'd bring them home cook them up and pop 'em in the freezer for future uses.

Now the store says they're trying to be more upscale and not put out past its prime food. I for one with a growing family to feed appreciated the savings. I hope this trend becomes vogue and more stores start to put out expired dated food.

 

[QVCshopper]

I buy old meat at Wegmans all the time, whenever I am lucky enough to find it. It's still good, and I use it right away or freeze it. I also buy scratch and dent veggies and fruit at a local place but it is only open during season. Anyway, I love this idea!

 

[zoemurr]

I buy old meat at Wegmans all the time, whenever I am lucky enough to find it. It's still good, and I use it right away or freeze it. I also buy scratch and dent veggies and fruit at a local place but it is only open during season. Anyway, I love this idea!

I think it's Wegman's that he is referring that puts the "old" foods in their prepared food.

 

[Marionnette]

FYI:

Just heard about the new concept from the ex-president of Trader Joe's repurposing food and selling items just past their sell by dates. Interesting idea as their is so much waste that is probably still good, and I know I'm always wondering if something is still good or bad.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/20...esident-to-turn-expired-food-into-cheap-meals

That's not going to fly in my house. My husband is very keen on throwing out anything that is past its "use by" date. I understand that in most cases, the "use by" date is an indicator of when the quality of the product begins to suffer. The canned tomatoes take on a "tinny" taste or a cake mix may lose some of its leavening properties. In most cases, the food is not inedible or unfit for consumption. It's just past its prime.

But I do so much stockpiling that I need those extra dates. I don't want something that is already past its prime.

 

[pjlla]

I love this idea. It is SO INSANE that we waste SO MUCH FOOD in this country! Building #19 (a New England salvage chain that recently went out of business) sold slightly out of date foods for years. I bought from them many times without any problems ever.

I used a package of cookie mix from my pantry once without realizing it was over a year and a half past its date. (Time flies as you get old and I didn't realize how long it had been there!) We tasted the cookies because I had already made them and didn't want to waste the ingredients. You would have never known the difference. They were just fine.

I've seen a few shows on tv and Netflix that follow people that LIVE off of dumpster diving for discarded food (of all types... meat, produce, etc, not just canned stuff). I even saw a cooking show one time where the folks had to use all salvaged foods. It is just ALARMING to see these dumpsters full of perfectly good food going to waste.... not to mention that it isn't being composted.... most of the food was being thrown away in PLASTIC BAGS... where it will sit in a landfill somewhere without the oxygen it needs to break down for the next 200 years!!

I'll be interested to hear more about this...............P

 

[GAN]

My grocery store used to do this with produce but have since stopped in the past couple of months and I miss it.

Our grocery store does this -but I'm still paying full price!

 

[mrsklamc]

This would really hurt the food pantry I work with, currently several grocery stores donate these items.

 

[worm761]

My farmer's market reduces the price of past its prime fruits and veggies. I bought a big package of green onions for a dollar last summer. I brought them home, took the bad parts off, and planted them in planters in my back yard. I am still eating off of them. Whenever I need some I just go out back and clip them off. They regrow!

 

[Cindy B]

I think it's Wegman's that he is referring that puts the "old" foods in their prepared food.

I agree with you. My local Wegmans used to put out the meats and put a special tag on it. I haven't seen anything marked down in Wegmans meats in this location for almost a year. This is an insanely busy Wegmans and the the prepared food section is always hopping. I bet they also use that meat for the samples as well.

However another Wegmans 15 minutes away does still mark down meat occasionally.

My Shoprite and Bottom Dollar has marked down meats all the time. I go fairly early Sunday morning and hit the bonanza!


With the price of meat lately, I said to my husband I never thought I'd say this but Trader Joe's has the best price for ground beef right now.

 

[Mad4Dizne]

I wonder why so many chains, like Trader Joes don't super super discount the food right before it goes out of code, it would fly off the shelves. It was a crying shame seeing what gets thrown out when so many people in our country go to bed hungry

 

[Swimalie]

I wonder why so many chains, like Trader Joes don't super super discount the food right before it goes out of code, it would fly off the shelves. It was a crying shame seeing what gets thrown out when so many people in our country go to bed hungry

I so agree.

 

[nunzia]

This would really hurt the food pantry I work with, currently several grocery stores donate these items.

You are lucky you can still use them. An inspector recently made our food pantry (that serves meals to the needy every Saturday) discard EVERYTHING past its Best By date..shameful. Meanwhile, a local thrift store has added discount Grocery Store to it's title and sells a lot of items past their Best By date wtih no problems..go figure.

 

[nunzia]

I so agree.

so they can write it off..more financial sense than selling under cost.

 

[DvF Diva]

I wonder why so many chains, like Trader Joes don't super super discount the food right before it goes out of code, it would fly off the shelves. It was a crying shame seeing what gets thrown out when so many people in our country go to bed hungry

I've not seen this problem too often at my Trader Joe's in NYC; the shelves are almost always out of stock, esp. produce. Most items don't ever reach their sell-by date. lol

Meats, however, is another story. I have seen two or three months past sell-by date.

Depending on the item, I don't let sell-by date dictate when to throw things out. Common sense also works and reduces waste.

 

[MillauFr]

Do stores generally throw all the past date food away? Several of the homeless missions by my office frequently have large trucks pulling up from grocery stores. I always assumed it was the past date food they were donating to the soup kitchen.

 

[dpswift]

I think it's Wegman's that he is referring that puts the "old" foods in their prepared food.

I have seen about to expire meat at Wegmans quite a bit. I look it over carefully because some of it looks bad.

I do however buy most of my meat from Target when it is marked down.

Trader Joes is due to open here soon.

 

[mrsklamc]

You are lucky you can still use them. An inspector recently made our food pantry (that serves meals to the needy every Saturday) discard EVERYTHING past its Best By date..shameful. Meanwhile, a local thrift store has added discount Grocery Store to it's title and sells a lot of items past their Best By date wtih no problems..go figure.

Wow really? We even have a list of how long things are 'really' good past their expiration. But I don't think there's any kind of inspector here.

 

[tcherjen]

We too don't use it if it has been past expired date.

 

[nunzia]

Wow really? We even have a list of how long things are 'really' good past their expiration. But I don't think there's any kind of inspector here.

I was really surprised when that happened. I have tons of stuff I use at home way 'expired' and it's always just fine.