Walk through a grocery store near closing time and you’ll probably notice something you don’t usually see during a regular shopping trip: shelves and coolers full of food that needs to move quickly.
Grocery stores have to deal with unsold food every day. Some of it is perfectly safe to eat but is getting close to its sell-by or best-by date. Some products have damaged packaging or simply aren’t selling fast enough.
That doesn’t mean all of it goes straight into the trash. Stores have several ways to deal with food they can no longer keep on the shelves.
Here’s what can happen to that food after it’s pulled from the sales floor.
It Gets Marked Down
One of the easiest ways for a store to prevent food from going to waste is to sell it before it reaches its date.
You’ve probably seen those clearance stickers on meat, dairy products, bakery items, and produce. A package that was full price in the morning might be marked down by the afternoon.
The store still makes some money from the sale, while shoppers get a cheaper product. It’s a pretty straightforward trade-off, and it can keep perfectly good food from being thrown away.
Before you pass up those clearance items, check out foods you can keep long after the expiration date.
It Gets Donated
Food that can no longer be sold may still be perfectly good to eat. Many grocery stores work with food banks, shelters, and other charitable organizations to get these products to people who need them.
Donations can include fresh produce, bread, dairy products, packaged foods, and other items that are approaching their best-by dates.
Food safety rules still apply, so stores and receiving organizations have to determine whether the food is suitable for donation. But a product coming off a grocery store shelf doesn’t automatically mean it has to go to waste.
Related: 5 Items Food Pantries Wish People Would Stop Donating
It Gets Sold to Discount Grocery Stores
Some food that’s no longer a good fit for a traditional supermarket can find a second chance at a salvage or discount grocery store.
These businesses specialize in selling food at much lower prices. They may buy products that are close to their dates, have excess inventory, come from discontinued product lines, or have packaging that’s less than perfect.
For shoppers who don’t mind a dented box or a product that’s nearing its best-by date, these stores can offer some serious bargains.
Related: 12 Things You Should Never Buy at the Grocery Store
It May Become Animal Feed
Food that isn’t suitable for people may still have a use on a farm.
Certain fruits and vegetables, grains, bakery products, and other food waste can sometimes be diverted to animal feed. This gives farmers another source of feed while keeping usable organic material out of landfills.
There are rules about what can be fed to animals, and those rules vary by location and the type of animal involved. Still, food that can’t be sold to shoppers doesn’t always have to be treated as garbage.
It Can Go to a Composting or Energy Facility
Some grocery stores send food scraps and other organic waste to composting facilities or anaerobic digesters.
At a composting facility, food waste can break down into material that can be used as compost or soil amendments. Anaerobic digestion takes a different route, breaking down organic material without oxygen and producing biogas that can be used as an energy source.
This gives food waste another destination besides the landfill.
Some kitchen scraps can even be useful at home. Here are 10 kitchen scraps you should be using in the garden.
Sometimes, It Still Goes in the Trash
Of course, not every unsold item gets a second life.
Food that’s spoiled, contaminated, badly damaged, or otherwise unsafe can’t be donated or sold. Once food reaches that point, disposal may be the only practical option.
Grocery stores have many ways to reduce food waste, but there will always be some products that can’t be recovered. The goal is to keep as much usable food as possible out of the trash before it gets to that stage.
