GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Meijer announced today its customers have diverted more than 1 million pounds of potential food waste through its Flashfood sustainability initiative.
Since the program’s expansion across the Meijer footprint in 2021, customers have purchased more than 1 million pounds of food nearing its sell-by date at a discount, preventing it from potentially entering landfills. The initiative represents the retailer’s commitment to offering both sustainability and value to its customers.
“We’re pleased to see that customers are taking advantage of the Flashfood program,” said Todd Weer, Senior Vice President of Stores for Meijer. “Making sure that good food doesn’t go to waste at Meijer is the right thing to do for our communities and our customers.”
Meijer launched Flashfood as a pilot program in November 2019 at a handful of its supercenters in Metro Detroit. After reducing in-store food waste by 10 percent, Meijer expanded the offering to all its stores in 2021. To date, an estimated 255 Meijer supercenters have Flashfood.
Through the Flashfood app, customers can purchase food nearing its sell-by date, including meat, produce, seafood, deli, dairy and bakery products at up to 50 percent off. Customers can then pick up the food from a designated refrigerator or storage rack located at the front of Meijer stores.
Flashfood is a Canadian-based company that allows retailers to upload surplus close-dated grocery items to an app that are available for purchase. Customers can go to the app, select a Meijer store, choose items they want to purchase and pay for them directly on the app. Then, they can go to the store to pick up their items and confirm their order with customer service.
“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.”
This is just one example in the retailer’s ongoing commitment to sustainability. The retailer recently announced its goal to reduce carbon emissions by 50 percent by 2025. As part of this ambitious commitment, the retailer is investing in renewable solar energy. Meijer will also hold its first-ever Sustainability Supplier Summit in June. To learn more about the many ways the retailer is embodying its commitment to sustainability, visit meijercommunity.com.
About Meijer:
Meijer is a Grand Rapids, Mich.-based retailer that operates more than 260 supercenters and grocery stores throughout Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky and Wisconsin. A privately-owned and family-operated company since 1934, Meijer pioneered the “one-stop shopping” concept and has evolved through the years to include expanded fresh produce and meat departments, as well as pharmacies, comprehensive apparel departments, pet departments, garden centers, toys and electronics. For additional information on Meijer, please visit www.meijer.com. Follow Meijer on Twitter at twitter.com/Meijer and twitter.com/MeijerPR or become a fan at www.facebook.com/meijer.
