Here's What Subway Actually Does With Unsold Food

It's a harsh reality that food waste is a huge problem in the United States. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration estimates that between 30% to 40% of the country's food supply goes to waste. They estimated that the country wastes 133 billion pounds of food — or $161 billion worth of food — in 2010, more than 15 years ago. Needless to say, food waste is a concern here in the U.S. — though, surprisingly, China actually has a bigger problem. 

While some restaurant chains have addressed this issue and taken steps to reduce the food waste footprint (examples include Chick-fil-A and Panera Bread), other chains seem to lag behind. One such chain is Subway. With about 20,000 restaurants, it's the largest fast food chain in the U.S. in terms of locations. But when it comes to food waste, the chain doesn't really have a clear policy. On its website, Subway outlines steps it has taken with environmental sustainability through energy, water, and waste. But it appears these are more franchisee decisions rather than corporate policy.

One Subway employee recently posted a photo on Reddit of uneaten delicious Subway cookies at the end of the day. The caption said, "It breaks my heart throwing these in the waste bin instead of my mouth." Another Redditor somewhat defended the sandwich chain for this practice by saying some workers purposefully make too many cookies or make them subpar so they can take the cookies home afterwards. "When my old company changed this policy, waste dropped substantially," they said. "It sucked not to be able to bring extra food home, but the owners were struggling to make ends meet so I didn't begrudge them trying to find ways to reduce waste."

Other current and former Subway workers have also complained about Subway's food waste on Reddit. One commenter says their particular Subway trashed heated meatballs, avocado prepped earlier in the day, and tea. Another Redditor confirms this, saying food waste at their local Subway included "meatballs, soup, tea, and fresh avocado. We trash hard bread in the mornings and of course we throw out any bad food."

In 2024, Subway provided automated deli slicers to all of its franchisees in an effort to save costs. But, as a result, some franchise owners have said the slicers have added to their food waste. One franchisee told Restaurant Business that food waste has increased because they cannot serve the end cuts, and lower volume stores end up throwing away on-site sliced meats due to the shelf life expiring.

In its defense, Subway partnered with Cornell University's Sustainable Global Enterprise M.B.A. program in 2019 to study different ways to reduce food waste across its large network of restaurants. While, in national press releases, executives at Subway seemed energized to implement the eventual findings, it doesn't appear too much has changed if you're to believe the posts on Reddit and social media. With food waste such a huge issue in the U.S., here's hoping fast food chains like Subway find a way to step up and really make a significant change.