MINNEAPOLIS — A decade ago, all of the food Supervalu donated to food banks was dry grocery products. But today, just 28% is dry grocery, and the rest is perishables.
For example, even when it is past the point of being marketable in stores, produce can be a viable candidate for donation; it now represents 23% of the 48 million pounds of food Supervalu gives annually to Feeding America, its primary food bank partner.
"The fresh produce may have a small blemish but it's very consumable,"said Tom McIntyre, Supervalu's director, research and development, energy and environmental, during a session on food waste at the FMI/GMA Sustainability Summit in Arlington, Va., earlier this month.
Other perishables Supervalu donates to food banks include meat (24% of the total), dairy (14%) and bakery (11%).
