What Happens To Unsold Food At H-E-B?

Grocery stores often attempt to offer everything, to everyone, all the time — produce needs to be fresh, packaged food needs to be within date, and prepared meals need to be replaced. This means, inevitably, food that's undesirable or surplus goes unsold. According to a 2024 report by ReFED, approximately 4 million tons of food waste came from retail food businesses that year. Grocery stores can either toss unsold food in the garbage or take responsibility for their food waste, which is what grocery chain H-E-B has been doing. H-E-B's Retail Donation Program funnels unsold food to food banks through its broader Hunger Relief and Food Bank Assistance programs, which support 18 Feeding America food banks and 13 food banks affiliated with the Mexican Association of Food Banks. Some H-E-B sites also use the Too Good To Go app to sell older deli and bakery items (and even surplus True Texas BBQ items) in a "surprise bag" at a discounted price.

H-E-B is a Texas-based grocery chain, with over 440 stores throughout the state, as well as in Mexico. The chain claims that since the inception of its Hunger Relief Program, H-E-B has donated more than a billion pounds of food to food banks in Texas and Mexico. Within this, roughly half of the food H-E-B donates is reportedly from unsold food. H-E-B's claims are supported online, with one Redditor explaining about bakery products: "I can vouch as someone who has packaged boxes at the food bank – lots and lots of HEB donations there."

Anonymous H-E-B staff on Reddit discuss how their stores freeze eligible meat products for food banks or donate spoiled meat to pig farms or animal shelters. Some even donate food to feed local police or fire departments. Donating non-perishables to food banks can be more straightforward because, well, they're not perishable. Managing food like bakery and deli items, however, requires more consistent management. H-E-B staff on Reddit explain that it is typical for these to be collected and donated to food banks. Otherwise, these items get a second chance in a Too Good To Go surprise bag.

There are several grocery chains that regularly donate food, but the best of these are the ones that create systems and processes for getting unsold food from shelves to food banks. H-E-B has an established infrastructure for managing unsold food, and according to its website, around 25% of all food bank contributions come from the business' own reclamation center, which is where stores salvage groceries that the company delivers to food banks at no cost. Not only does this mean increased convenience for food banks, but savings on fuel and personnel, which, no matter how small, add up to donations that go further. H-E-B works closely with not only Feeding America, but a targeted organization within it, Feeding Texas, as well as the Global Foodbanking Network, which helps to send food to countries outside the U.S.