How To Be Good

I try to try harder. Working in a supermarket there is so much room for product loss. I have seen boxes of perfectly acceptable product being tossed into the compost heap. On the one hand it is a conflict of interest for employees to consume these products (which I understand). Since where I work is considered a premium grocer and people are paying premium price for premium products we don't put out things like manager specials(sad but true). Lastly once a product hits the end of the printed shelf life, no matter the product's actual condition, it must be taken off the shelf. We have entered the age where society depends so whole heartedly on those printed dates that we do not trust our own noses and good sense. When is the last time anyone has performed the old floating in water test on their old eggs. Working in the meat department I have grown to realize what is good and what is not. I already know that the kosher chickens will only make it just to their expiration dates but that tray of ribeye that has started to brown will taste exactly the same as the new tray that I cut up. Yet still our wandering managers pass buy and pull things that they are certain will not entice the customers. The managers are right. No customer will buy a brown piece of meat when they are certain that they can obtain a fresher one. Constantly am I reminded of the overwhelming, meaningless high standards of the upper class. As the request for the piece closest to the front of the case is one I hear throughout the day(it all gets cut from the same cow). I notice the shuffled packages of boneless skinless chicken breasts from customers searching for the latest expiration date (most of the time it all comes from the same box and they all have an expiration date beyond what the computer prints on the label).I have even given in to customers asking me to go to the back and cut for them whatever I have in the cooler that is freshest(it is DEAD. I really can't get it any fresher than that).

With all of these high demands there are always pieces of perfectly good product that get left behind. I want to make sure that some of these products don't go to waste. I started this effort while I was working yesterday morning. When a store decides to carry product free of preservatives (I do approve), but still carries over 10 different types of bacon there are a certain number of customers that's necessary to be sure that nothing goes to waste. Still I was left yesterday with a case of turkey bacon that was going to reach the expiration date within a week. I threw several packages in the oven and asked bakery and produce to contribute product that they would be forced to throw out because of expiration dates or spots and bruises. They both confessed that they were carrying a little of each and with an "old" loaf of bread, a couple of beaten up tomatoes, and a less than desirable head of lettuce. I pushed out a special early morning demo for customers. It ate into my time a little but less food went to waste and in the end we sold a few packages of our about to expire turkey bacon.

Throughout the rest of the day I made a few trips to our kitchen to throw items into the oven that never sell on the shelfs. Not only did it keep the browned cornbread stuffed pork pinwheels we made on Friday from going to waste but within 1 hour of putting out the demo we sold our entire tray of fresh pinwheels I made that morning. By putting out product for highly encouraged weekend demos that would have gone to waste instead of using fresh product it is a win, win for everyone.