GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — As of today, Meijer has saved over 1 million pounds of food from being sent to the landfill.
Instead, good food nearing the sell-by has been sold at a discount, in a company-wide effort to both promote sustainability and create value for Meijer customers.
Using an app called Flashfood, customers can purchase meat, produce, seafood, deli, dairy, and bakery items at a discounted price. Customers can then pick up their groceries at a special refrigerator placed at the front of certain Meijer stores.
“Minimizing food waste is a priority for us at Meijer and we’re constantly looking for ways to cut down on landfill use and the production of greenhouse gases,” said Erik Petrovskis, Director of Environmental Compliance and Sustainability at Meijer. “Flashfood has been an exciting addition to our stores and I’m happy to see that the program is so effective in benefiting not just the environment, but also our customers.”
Meijer introduced the Flashfood program at a limited number of Detroit stores in November 2019. The program resulted in a 10% reduction in food waste for those trial stores, and the program was expanded to all Meijer locations in 2021.
Meijer estimates that 255 supercenters participate in the Flashfood program.
The grocery retailer has also demonstrated its commitment to sustainability in other ways. Meijer recently declared an intent to slash carbon emissions in half by 2025. Meijer has also invested in renewable solar energy.
To learn more about Meijer’s green initiatives, head here.
