A crowd waits on the sidewalk for the WeFood grocery store in Copenhagen to open. It’s not the first grocer in Europe to sell surplus food. But unlike so-called “social supermarkets” – stores which serve almost exclusively low-income people — WeFood’s offerings are very intentionally aimed at the general public.
DanChurchAid
Denmark is once again distinguishing itself in the race against food waste — this time, with a supermarket hawking items once destined for the trash bin.
Those items might include treats for a holiday that happened last week, a ripped box of cornflakes, plain white rice mislabeled as basmati, or anything nearing its expiration date. In other words, perfectly edible items that are nonetheless considered unfit for sale by the retailers and manufacturers who donate them.
WeFood is not the first grocer in Europe to sell surplus food. But unlike so-called “social supermarkets” – stores which serve almost exclusively low-income people — WeFood’s offerings are very intentionally aimed at the general public.
“If you call it a ‘social supermarket,’ it’s difficult to get customers to go there. Who wants to be poor?” explains Per Bjerre with DanChurchAid, the charity behind th…