Meijer customers divert 10M pounds of food waste through Flashfood app

Meijer customers have diverted more than 10 million pounds of potentially wasted food through the grocer's partnership with Flashfood, the Grand Rapids, Michigan-based retailer said on Tuesday, adding that it is the first U.S. food retailer to achieve that milestone.  

Meijer launched Flashfood as a pilot program at several of its supercenters in the Detroit metro area in 2019. The app allows retailers to sell grocery items approaching their best-by dates for up to 50% off.

After reducing in-store food waste by 10%, Meijer expanded the offering to all its stores in 2021.

"Food is at the core of what we do, and we're always looking for ways to cut down on landfill use because it's the right thing to do for our customers and communities," said Erik Petrovskis, director of Environmental Compliance and Sustainability at Meijer, in a statement. "Our partnership with Flashfood has already grown beyond our expectations, but this record achievement has us looking forward to the program's future growth."

To date, 264 Meijer stores offer the program, including all the retailer's supercenters and grocery stores.

"We've seen amazing momentum in our partnership with Meijer, particularly after expanding availability of the app across all stores—and we're thrilled to celebrate them as our first U.S. retailer to hit this major milestone," said Brody Slacer, head of Partner Growth at Flashfood, in a statement. "Working with Meijer has given thousands of shoppers access to affordable, high-quality groceries while reducing the impact of retail food waste. A rare win-win for people and the planet."

Looking to make fresh food more accessible, in March Meijer became the first retailer nationwide to accept Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits through the Flashfood app.