Scratch and Dent Food

This is a great idea, and I'm glad he's doing this:

Former Trader Joe's Exec Wants to Reclaim Expired Food, Reduce Waste

But, honestly, I'm a little sad to see how few grocery stores take the initiative to deal with this reality themselves.

I've seen many--although decidedly not all--that with throw a little $1-off sticker on expiring meat, or put their ultra-ripe bananas in a special bag on a discount.

That's, you know, nice.

But I think they could take a more comprehensive approach.

I've only ever seen it done in one store, but it really worked, and it didn't detract from the store's upscale vibe.

This store, a Harris Teeter in North Carolina, had a special section in the meat department and a special rack in the produce department.  All the expiring meat got a nice little discount--often about 30%--and was conveniently located all in one place.  Meat that was expiring that day often got a more substantial discount--maybe two-thirds or three-quarters off.

Scratch-and-dent and super-ripe produce was similarly repackaged and all placed together on that special rack.  It might contain damaged apples or pears (I often used them for pie or applesauce), cut melons (that had been, presumably, bruised on one side but were salvageable), old-ish mushrooms (wrinkled was fine, slimey was not), smooshy avocados (fine for guac), or plantains that had ripened black (which is the exact perfect time to use them!).

Here's the thing: even though Harris Teeter tended to be pricier and more upscale than Kroger or Food Lion, I always shopped at Harris Teeter, once they started doing this.  It really did help the budget, I really appreciated the convenience of having all the sale stuff in one place, and I really liked patronizing a store that was trying to eliminate waste.

In fact, I thought of those scratch-and-dent sections as a small way for the grocery store to redeem the manipulative practices that grocery stores routinely use to separate you from as much of your money as possible.

I never make applesauce anymore.  I don't have time, first of all, and it's been over four years since I moved away from that Harris Teeter.  (The idea of making applesauce from full-price apples makes me grumpy.)

And I've never--never--seen a grocery store with the same concerted effort to do what that Harris Teeter did.  (I don't think my current grocery store even puts little $1-off stickers on its expiring meat.)

I shop at Publix now.  Maybe it's time for a little letter to the manager.