What Happens To Leftover Bakery Items At Whole Foods?

It's overwhelming to think about how much food goes unsold at the grocery store every day and is potentially thrown away. This is especially true of bakery items. After all, most baked goods don't last very long before they turn stale. Luckily, some stores, like Whole Foods, are making an effort to keep wasted food out of landfills with various initiatives. In fact, the grocery chain has made reducing food waste a major goal, pledging to cut food waste 50% by 2030.

One way Whole Foods is doing this is by partnering with the digital platform Too Good To Go, where participating store locations put together unsold bakery items into "Bakery Surprise Bags." These are filled with discounted breads, muffins, cookies, scones, pastries, or bagels that are still fresh and safe to eat but nearing or at their sell-by date, making it one of the best ways to shop at Whole Foods if you're on a budget.  Over 530 stores take part in Too Good To Go, so there's a decent chance your store does, too. And if bakery items (and other foods like produce) still cannot be sold, Whole Foods prevents waste by using them to make prepared dishes and baked goods. The retailer also donates millions of pounds of safe food annually to food banks and redistribution programs across the United States.

The Bakery Surprise Bags are one of those Whole Foods secrets you'll wish you knew about sooner, as they offer a large amount of baked goods for a fraction of the normal cost. They're also a perfect option for shoppers looking to stock their freezer. Customers typically can expect to pay around $6 to $7 for $18 to $25 worth of food. The contents vary by day and location, and because you never know exactly what you're getting, part of the fun is being surprised (many contain a combination of muffins, cookies, bagels, pastries, pies, and artisan breads). Surprise bags are available to anyone who signs up via the Too Good To Go app. This app connects customers with Whole Foods and other grocery stores, bakeries, and restaurants that sell highly discounted leftover items instead of automatically tossing them. And it's not just baked goods that are available, but also produce, prepared foods, and even sushi.

But be prepared: It should come as no surprise that these Surprise Bags are seriously popular. Most locations release the bakery bags between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m., and other foods between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m., and they sell out fast — in some cases, in 5 to 30 seconds in major cities. Considering how seriously overpriced Whole Foods can be, we'd say it's worth signing up for the opportunity to score a delicious deal.