Anyone have luck getting grocery stores to give you old produce or rinds?

[joannefiddler]

I was recently in our local Publix store and noticed the employee cutting up fruit for the ready-made fruit salads they sell. She was tossing the melon rinds and cantaloupe seeds, etc. into a big plastic tub. I could instantly imagine what fun my flock would have with what was in that tub. I approached her and asked what was done with the rinds, etc. and she said, "we throw it away". I asked her if I could relieve them of that by taking it myself. She went and spoke to the produce manager who returned and said, "No, we're not allowed to do that". I wasn't feeling particularly feisty, so I said, "well, I just hate to see it simply thrown away if I have animals who would gladly eat it, but, thank you anyway."

Have any of you had success in this area? What approach did you use? Are there legal "issues" that stores face that make them reluctant to do this? Thanks in advance for any ideas!

 

[welasharon]

I think they have regulations that prohibit them from giving them to people. Another instance of common sense having lost its way in America. Some stores in the past would give or sell old produce to hog farmers but I don't know if they still do that or not. We are some of the most wasteful people on earth.

 

[bertgwen]

Try your smaller local independent type groceries or co-ops. My intuition is that these smaller stores, without the big corporate heirarchy above them, will be more inclined to work with you.

 

[joannefiddler]

Thanks for the replies, it's just such a shame to see all that wasted. I wonder if there was some sort of "hold harmless" agreement that one could sign that they'd let it go. I will continue to pursue this and report back with any success stories.

 

[kauaifeerange]

I go to local restaurants and they are very happy to give me the organic scraps

 

[ChirpyChicks1]

Depends on the store, but stupid rules are still rules

I worked for a smaller grocery store and they would gather all day old bakery items and send them to a shelter. I then worked for Walmart in the bakery and they would mark down items the day of expiration and then throw them away. I made a comment once about donating them and my head of bitten off. Big companies like Walmart follow their rules and don't care about anyone. Depending on your store I'd talk to the owner, don't bother talking to the managers about it.

 

[Noodlynoo]

I have the same problem here in the UK but have great success from the market stalls. Not sure that they have such strict rules as the bigger stores.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I agree with all that's been said here. I have been successful with one chain grocer that will give me what they call trimmings. They remove the outside leaves of cabbage and any clumps of collards and kale that they can't sell. That's it. Everything else goes to food pantries or gets thrown away.

New regulations have really caused a lot of waste in meat. The meat cutters used to be able to buy meat cheaply that was at it's expiration date. It now has to be thrown away.