Giant Food diverted more than 30M pounds of food waste last year

In its first year of its partnership with tech company Divert, regional grocer Giant Food kept more than 30.8 million pounds of food from heading to the landfill—mitigating nearly 1,400 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions.

The Ahold Delhaize banner shared the early results of the food waste collaboration on Tuesday. 

"We recognize our responsibility as a leader in the grocery space to make a positive impact on the environment and tackle waste reduction," said Diane Hicks, SVP of operations at Giant Food, in a statement. "We're proud of the success of our collaboration with Divert thus far and look forward to continuing our work together and expanding our efforts toward a healthier planet."

In June 2022, Divert launched the wasted food recycling program with Giant Food to reduce the amount of organic waste going to landfills. It was later expanded to include all 165 Giant Food supermarkets in Virginia, Maryland, Delaware and Washington, D.C. The program includes the processing of an average of 500 pounds of wasted food each day per store.

To avoid wasted food, the grocer marks down, repurposes and donates still-edible products to local food banks, Giant Food said. When that isn't possible, Divert can recycle the food waste and process it into renewable energy. 

"Wasted food is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and can cost the average grocery store about $40,000 in lost profit daily," said Ryan Begin, CEO and co-founder of Divert, in a statement. "Giant Food shares our commitment to tackling these issues through wasted food prevention and food donations that benefit our environment, communities, and ultimately, retailers' bottom lines. Through our ongoing collaboration with Ahold Delhaize USA and Giant Food, true sustainability leaders in the retail industry, we are eager to accelerate our impact together in the coming years."

Giant and Divert are looking to expand the partnership in the coming year to further increase diversion and donation efforts for Giant's divisions.

Founded in 2007, Divert, Inc. is a company that creates advanced technologies and sustainable infrastructure to eliminate wasted food.