Tops expands Flashfood service to 18 more locations

Tops Friendly Markets is expanding its partnership with Flashfood, which offers products nearing their best-by dates at a substantial discount, in 18 more of its locations, the company announced on Thursday. 

That brings the total number of Tops' western New York locations offering the service to 68. The new Flashfood Tops stores include five locations in Rochester and one each in Albion, Avon, Canandaigua, Farmington, Greece, Hamlin, Henrietta, Hilton, Irondequoit, Ontario, Spencerport, Walworth and Waterloo. 

The grocer noted that continued inflation and food insecurity challenges families, particularly in New York, where one out of every seven children experiences hunger.  

"Part of Tops' core mission is eradicating hunger, and Flashfood is an innovative tool that allows us to provide quality product at a discounted price helping with the bottom line, all while diverting it from landfills," said Jeff Culhane, senior vice president of merchandising for Tops Friendly Markets, in a statement. "After expanding the program to 50 stores, we are thrilled to grow our footprint with Flashfood even further in the Rochester market to help more Tops shoppers save on groceries and continue our mission of reducing our carbon footprint." 

Tops first joined the Flashfood program at six of its locations in 2020 and added 44 locations the following year. The grocer said its partnership has saved shoppers more than $2.4 million on their grocery bills and diverted nearly a million pounds of food from landfills. The equals more than 350,000 meals, according to the grocer. 

The program, available in more than 1,600 locations in the U.S. and Canada, enables shoppers to save up to 60% on perishables such as meat, dairy, seafood and produce. They are available through the Flashfood smartphone app or at the Flashfood Zone of their local Tops location.