The ‘shelf life’ of a banana is an interesting thing. It can be green when it is considered under-ripe. It can be bright yellow when it is considered perfect to eat. And it can be dark brown when it becomes the perfect addition to banana bread. And somewhere in between all that is the definition of a banana’s retail life; for instance, a three-pound bunch that is bright yellow, with brown spotting is ready to eat that instant. A shopper is most likely not going to buy three pounds of bananas if they all need to be consumed within a day or two.
At BJ’s, our team members are trained in the art of determining the end of our products’ retail life. Every day, BJ’s team members sort through fresh produce, meats, poultry, seafood, dairy and bakery products and identify the ones that are at the end of their retail life. They remove these products from the shelves, store them safely, and then donate them to one of our 45 Feeding America member food bank partners. Food banks then work with direct feeding sites such as food pantries and meal programs to redistribute this wholesome and nutritious product out to people in need.
And since we launched this BJ’s Feeding Communities Program® in 2011, BJ’s is proud to say that collectively, we have donated over 50 MILLION pounds of food to our communities!
This program has worked wonderfully for BJ’s, not only allowing us to help feed our neighbors in need, but also helping us to reduce costs and divert good food away from landfills.
To celebrate this milestone, we invited our social media followers to help us grant $50,000 to 10 of our food bank partners to support their holiday meal efforts. We hope that through the BJ’s Feeding Communities Program® and the support of the BJ’s Charitable Foundation ®, we can help make the holidays a little brighter for families in need.
To learn more about this effort and BJ’s commitment to hunger relief, visit them on Facebook or www.BJs.com/hunger.
*Jillian Butler is the corporate social responsibility lead at BJ’s Wholesale Club.
**Photos courtesy of BJ's Wholesale Club.
