Meijer to complete rollout of food of waste reduction program chainwide this year

Meijer is solidifying its commitment to reducing in-store food waste.

After COVID-19 caused delays in rolling out Flashfood food waste reduction program to all its stores in 2020, Meijer is on track to complete implementation of the program this year. While also cutting down on in-store food waste, the initiative allows customers to purchase food nearing its sell-by date – including meat, produce, seafood, deli and bakery products – at up to 50% off via the Flashfood app, and then pick the goods up at Meijer stores.

The retailer launched the app-based pilot program in November 2019 at a handful of Meijer supercenters in Metro Detroit. After reducing in-store food waste by 10%, Meijer opted to expand the offering to all its stores across the Midwest. To date, an estimated 240 Meijer supercenters have Flashfood.

Flashfood is a Canadian-based company that allows retailers to upload surplus close-dated foods to their app where items are available for purchase at a deep discount. Customers go to the app, select a Meijer store, choose the items they want to purchase and pay for them directly on the app at up to 50% off. Then, they go in-store to pick up their items and confirm their order with customer service. The purchased food is stored in a refrigerator or storage rack located in the front of the story until picked up by the customer.

"We are incredibly excited to be rolling out with Meijer and to be expanding Flashfood all over Michigan and into Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio and Wisconsin," said Eric Tribe, chief marketplace officer, Meijer, which operates 256 supercenters and grocery stores. "Meijer continues to show their commitment to supporting the communities they serve through reducing waste and creating value. They are moving fast to make an impact by launching Flashfood in all of their stores. We look forward to serving so many more communities and getting them access to amazing deals while reducing food waste."

This is the latest effort in the retailer's commitment to sustainability. Meijer has a Food Rescue program that donated 13.2 million pounds of food in 2020 to local food banks.