PSA: I just saw a chart showing how much meat gets tossed at big grocery stores each week

I was looking at some old trade papers from a butcher school in Chicago... and there was a chart from 2019. It said a single large supermarket location can throw away over 300 pounds of meat a week. That's just the stuff that goes past its date before it sells. It made me think about our shop. We cut to order and our case is small, so maybe we waste 20 pounds a week, tops. It's a huge difference. Makes me wonder if the big guys could learn something from how smaller butcher shops handle stock. Do you think that number is still true now, or has it gotten worse?

3 comments

3 Comments

corablack7d agoTop Commenter

Ever wonder why they don't just mark that stuff down sooner? A deep discount beats a total loss.

rowan_thomas847d ago

Yeah, what's the real reason they hold onto it? I totally get what corablack is saying, a little money back is better than none. It feels like such a waste, and not just with meat, you see it with bread and produce too. Maybe there's some dumb store rule about how things look on the shelf. It just seems so short-sighted to throw perfectly good food away.

spencer_coleman7d ago

Is it really that big of a deal though? That 300 pounds sounds like a lot, but for a huge store moving thousands of pounds a week, it's a tiny fraction. They probably already factor that loss into their prices. Most of that "waste" might be trimmings and fat they can't sell anyway, not good steaks. I doubt they're just throwing away perfect cuts.