In May, a Florida TikToker filmed workers at a local Walmart to reveal what happens to the store's excess food.
Recently, viewers online have been paying more attention to the incredible wastefulness of stores and restaurants. Dumpster divers post videos of trash containers full of unopened products, and several employees and visitors have gotten behind-the-scenes footage of food being thrown away — enough to feed thousands of people.
@drewjitzoo415 How Walmart Fights Food Insecurity #walmart #samsclub #dougmcmillon #foodinsecurity #poverty #food #hungry #feedthepoor #lessfortunate #waste #foodwaste #viral #news #pensacola #florida #feedinghomeless #homeless #inflation @walmart @samsclub @samscluboffical @samsclubmembers @walmartworld @abcnews @cnn @jimmydarts @mdmotivator @stevewilldoit @nelkboys @ufc @danawhite ♬ original sound - Drew Jitzoo
According to Drew Jitzoo (@drewjitzoo415), Walmart is one of the many stores participating in this wasteful practice. Jitzoo filmed three videos of carts loaded up with food headed to the dumpster. Almost thirty rotisserie chickens, still hot, are about to hit the trash in his first clip, while sweets from the bakery are on the chopping block in the second video.
The third and most-viewed video shows a cart loaded with loaves of bread, rolls, and pastries. "Wow, holy crap," Jitzoo says. "Is it all going in the trash?"
"Yep," replies a Walmart employee.
"No!" says Jitzoo, zooming in on items on the cart. "Dude, those cinnamon rolls look good."
Commenters hated to see all that food going to waste. "This should be illegal," said one user. "Do better Walmart," wrote another.
Often, the food being disposed of this way is still edible. While it may be past its "sell by date," that date doesn't indicate whether the food is safe — only when it's past its peak freshness. It's still safe, which means these businesses have options.
For example, one responsible choice would be to sell the food at a discount, possibly using an app like Too Good To Go. This allows the business to still profit from food that they can't sell at full price, reducing losses, and it also saves buyers money.
Stores can also donate the food they don't sell, providing food for those most in need.
However, many companies believe that if they discounted or gave away the extras, fewer people would buy them at full price. They seem unconcerned about the wasted resources to produce discarded items or the pollution from shipping them cross-country just to be thrown away.
In Jitzoo's fourth video, a Walmart employee can be heard talking about how much money the location takes in. "Yesterday's sales, we did just under $500,000, so it's a solid day at the club," he says.
With sales numbers like those, you'd think Walmart could afford a little compassion.
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