WILLIAMSVILLE, N.Y. — Tops Friendly Markets is continuing its commitment to sustainability through the steady expansion of the Flashfood program, which now includes 17 additional stores throughout the Western New Yorkregion. With 50 Tops locations now offering greater and easier access to affordably-priced goods, Tops and Flashfood’s partnership also contributes to the fight against food waste, a leading factor of climate change.
The Flashfood app allows shoppers to conveniently browse and purchase fresh food, including produce, meat, deli, and bakery products, nearing its best by date at significantly reduced prices. Shoppers can find great deals and purchase these items through the free app, then simply pick up their items at the Flashfood zone located at their Tops Friendly Market location.
“We’re proud to be working with sustainability-focused retailers like Tops Friendly Markets to help consumers who are looking to feed their families affordably access discounted, perfectly good food nearing its best-by date — all while ensuring less food goes to waste,” said Josh Domingues, Founder & CEO of Flashfood. “Approximately $37 billion worth of food is thrown out each year in the U.S. at the retail level, while an estimated 1 in 9 Americans are food insecure. This is a serious problem that needs to be addressed by all of us working together toward smart, forward-thinking solutions that help people and the planet.”
To date, Tops and Flashfood have worked together to:
- Feed more than 3,000 families affordably
- Save customers an average of $108 on their grocery spend each month
- Divert more than 150,000 lbs. of food from landfills
- Save the emissions equivalent of 667,885 miles driven by the average vehicle
On top of saving shoppers money on fresh food and reducing the negative impact on the environment, Flashfood also helps Tops and other retailer partners earn revenue on items that would typically be counted as a loss. By partnering with Flashfood, grocery retailers can reduce shrink, improve EBIT by 3 to 5%, and make a positive impact on their carbon footprint. Flashfood also helps retailers attract and retain customers.
“Many of our customers were among those hit hard by financial challenges over the past year, and partnering with Flashfood allows us the opportunity to help the communities we serve gain access to discounted groceries,” said Jeff Culhane, senior vice president, merchandising for Tops. “We are excited to expand the program with Flashfood and believe it will help us divert food from being thrown in landfills while also saving our shoppers thousands of dollars.”
In addition to helping the Buffalo community access affordable groceries through Flashfood, Tops has also donated more than 53 million meals to local communities.
All participating Tops locations can be found via Flashfood’s store locator.
To learn more about the Tops and Flashfood partnership visit https://www.flashfood.com/en/partner/tops-friendly-markets. To learn about Tops’ sustainability efforts, visit https://www.topsmarkets.com/Sustainability/.
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About Tops Friendly Markets
Tops Markets, LLC is headquartered in Williamsville, NY and operates 157 full-service supermarkets with five additional franchise stores and is the largest private, for-profit employer in Western New York. As a leading grocery retailer in New York, northern Pennsylvania, and western Vermont, and with the support of 15,000 associates, our core mission is to help our communities flourish. We support programs that seek to eradicate hunger and disease; promote the education of our youth; and to ensure we reduce environmental waste and energy consumption while providing our customers with sustainably sourced, high quality products. For more information, visit www.topsmarkets.com
About Flashfood
Flashfood is an app-based marketplace that strives to eliminate retail food waste by connecting consumers with discounted food nearing its best-by date. The mobile app operates in over 1,000 grocery locations throughout the U.S. and Canada. Shoppers can buy items from grocery retailers through the Flashfood app and pick them up in-store at great prices while collectively reducing food waste. To date, Flashfood has diverted over 22 million pounds of food, saved shoppers over $70 million and more affordably fed hundreds of thousands of families. Flashfood is currently working with The GIANT Company, Meijer, Tops Friendly Markets, SpartanNash, Giant Eagle and Stop & Shop. Flashfood is a free app available on iOS and Android. For more information, please visit www.flashfood.com.
