The world’s first pay-what-you-can grocery store just opened up in Toronto and the shelves are stocked entirely with food that was destined for a landfill.
The Feed It Forward store “sells” food and ingredients that are donated by larger grocery supply chains who aren’t allowed to sell the products.
The produce is usually salvaged because it’s misshapen or bruised in some way, despite being perfectly edible. Other products are donated because grocery stores aren’t allowed to sell the goods if they are too close to their expiration date, even though they may still have a shelf life for several months to come. Some food is thrown out simply because there is too much warehouse stock to accommodate it.
Customers at Feed It Forward, however, are free to fill up their baskets and pay whatever they can afford. If they don’t have any money, they are still free to take whatever they want; although families are only allowed to take home one day’s worth of food in order to ensure that the store remains stocked….
