Meat the Needs: Ahold Delhaize Sustainable Retailing Model

Intended Contribution to Knowledge. Zero waste initiatives are having a real impact on reducing food waste of edible and inedible parts of food. There are good zero waste practices for diverting food away from landfills to be used to generate energy such as in a food digester or to be used as compost. Better practices help to divert food for human consumption. Many grocers do a lot of good things for the food banks and their local community partners such as shelters and soup kitchens to relieve hunger. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate an innovative zero waste food rescue program that can be used as an example of best practices in sustainable retailing. Literature Foundations. Recent research has focused on this intersection of sustainability, marketing and public policy which are all part of green retail strategies (Iyer and Reczek 2017). Food waste prevention is a goal of most grocers, food service companies, farmers, and food manufacturers (Block et al. 2016). Perceived risk to brand (Murray and Schlacter 1990) and challenges of food safety and handling procedures as well as consumer behavior and perception of inventory were all issues that Ahold Delhaize had to address when the program was piloted. Research Method. Using a case methodology Giant Foods meat rescue program will illustrate this innovative program from the perspective of the decision makers that created the ‘Meat the Needs’ Program. Findings and Implications. The impact of this innovative program has effectively altered the supply chains at six major food banks in the Northeastern U.S. challenging traditional methods of food banking and creating several new opportunities for food rescue programs involving ugly produce, fruit rescue, and milk rescue in addition to the original meat rescue program.