What Whole Foods Does With Unsold Food Products

Given the impact of social media, we're perhaps more aware of the world's dealings than ever before, and that includes food waste. Where once we took the word of corporations that claimed to handle food waste with grace, now the power of the internet connects us directly to whistleblowers who may or may not say otherwise. When it comes to the multi-billion-dollar Whole Foods Market chain, both the company and social media voices note that the grocer actively donates unsold food to food banks and organizations in need.

Whole Foods' efforts to reduce its food waste begin with "precise inventory control and smart ordering practices," according to the chain's website. If produce or perishables don't meet aesthetic standards, Whole Foods will skip the trash and repurpose them into prepared foods through initiatives such as Too Good To Go and Enjoy Today. The grocer is also one of 11 grocery chains that regularly donate unsold food through organizations such as Food Donation Connection and Nourishing Our Neighborhoods, as well as other programs that compost unsold food into animal feed for farmers. To keep unsold food out of landfills, Whole Foods even donates the product to anaerobic digestion facilities, which turn organic matter into "renewable energy or 'biogas,'" the website explains.

Whole Foods Market is adamant about halving its food waste in the next four years, among 15 other interesting facts you need to know about Whole Foods. Membership with ReFED and the World Wildlife Fund's U.S. Food Waste Pact helps keep the grocer on track with that goal. "Our store donates basically 100% of our spoilage from Produce, PFDS, Grocery, even Whole Body," said one alleged employee on Reddit. According to its website, in 2024, Whole Foods kept 4.2 million items out of landfills through the Enjoy Today program, 636,000 meals throughout the year through the
Too Good To Go Program, and 34,594,342 pounds of food through the Food Donation Connection partnership.

Meanwhile, the internet is still ablaze with alleged employees who claim otherwise. One Redditor said that Whole Foods was "by far the most wasteful place I've worked at," continuing that "they have trash cans for food waste, but no one uses them." Another Reddit user claimed the grocer was "easily the most wasteful grocery store [they've] ever worked at, by a wide margin," adding that they were forced to "[spoil] out nearly 150 pounds of meat and seafood that leads keep insisting we overpack so customers can see full cases," such as these four Whole Foods meats to buy and three to avoid. This Reddit user clarified the throwing-away process, stating that "if it's gone bad, it won't get donated, and if it has an expiration date, it won't get donated."