New Whole Foods partnership aims to combat food waste in stores

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Whole Foods Market is collaborating with a surplus food company to try and minimize the amount of food waste happening at its grocery stores.

The Austin-based grocery retailer announced its partnership with Too Good To Go Wednesday, with the collaboration operating at more than 450 stores nationwide. Under the program, customers can purchase via Too Good To Go's app surprise bags that are filled with surplus food items that would otherwise go to waste.

Options included prepared food bags featuring soups and ready meals as well as bakery bags that are filled with bread, muffins, scones and cookies. Customers can use the app to select which store to purchase the surprise bags from, with select Austin stores participating.

"Through this collaboration, Whole Foods Market and Too Good To Go will to only reduce food waste but also provide customers with the opportunity to enjoy high-quality and fresh food while making a positive impact on the environment," company representatives said in the release.

How much food does the U.S. waste each year?

Food waste proves to be a rampant problem nationally, with estimates from Recycle Track Systems finding the U.S. wastes nearly 120 billion pounds of food every year, amounting to almost 40% of the nation's entire food supply. Globally, RTS reported 2.5 billion tons of food wasted each year, with the U.S. leading in the most waste recorded.

Despite the massive volumes of food waste, approximately 35 million people in America face food insecurity, per RTS data. In America, food waste is broken down by the following factors:

• U.S. homes: responsible for 43% of food waste
• U.S. restaurants, grocery stores, food service companies: responsible for 40% of food waste
• Farms: responsible for 16% of food waste
• Manufacturers: responsible for 2% of food waste

How food labels can contribute to food waste

RTS researchers found many Americans -- more than 80% -- will throw out consumable food because of confusion surrounding expiration labels and fear that eating it will lead to a foodborne illness.

Here's a breakdown of two key label phrases:

• "Best if used by": the quality of the product might not taste the same as expected, but is still safe to consume
• "Use by": the product is extremely perishable or could pose food safety concerns if consumed after the date listed

More details on composting or how to practice better food preservation habits are available online.