Food waste is a critical element of focus for many of the retail trailblazers in our industry. Giant Food is one grocer that continues to push forward in minimizing waste, optimizing a tactical alliance with Divert. In one year alone, the duo has processed over 30.8 million pounds of wasted food, mitigating almost 1,400 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions.
"We recognize our responsibility as a leader in the grocery space to make a positive impact on the environment and tackle waste reduction," said Diane Hicks, Senior Vice President of Operations at Giant Food. "We're proud of the success of our collaboration with Divert thus far and look forward to continuing our work together and expanding our efforts toward a healthier planet."
In a move to reduce the amount of organic waste going into landfills, Giant and Divert began their collaboration in June 2022. To do so, Giant's stores mark down, repurpose, or donate unsold and still edible food to local food banks. The food that cannot be repurposed or donated is given to Divert to recycle and recoup its value by processing it into renewable energy, a press release explained.
Since the inception of the partnership, the collaboration has expanded to include all 165 stores under the Giant umbrella across Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, and Washington, DC. Divert processes an average of 500 pounds of wasted food each day per store.
"Wasted food is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and can cost the average grocery store about $40,000 in lost profit daily," said Ryan Begin, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, Divert. "Giant Food shares our commitment to tackling these issues through wasted food prevention and food donations that benefit our environment, communities, and ultimately, retailers' bottom lines. Through our ongoing collaboration with Ahold Delhaize USA and Giant Food, true sustainability leaders in the retail industry, we are eager to accelerate our impact together in the coming years."
Keep track of this strategic partnership and more with us here at Deli Market News.
