Written by Erin Zeltner
In the U.S., it has been found that an average of 40% of our food, from farm to landfill, goes uneaten and is thrown away. That’s $165 billion each year of unappreciated, unused food that once held nutritional value. We have been wasting precious energy, water and resources used to grow crops.
In years past, little has been done about this waste issue beyond trickling out small amounts of usable foods from grocery stores to soup kitchens, but stores like Traders Discount Markets, located at 855 S. Bluff St. in St. George, have been popping up around the country. They have a two-fold purpose: To save our edible resources and save you money.
Hank and Mariangela Landau and Dan and Jenny Krispin opened Traders to make a difference.
“There’s a paradigm shift happening in grocery foods, where prices continue to rise and waste is abundant. Large chains look at shelf space as real estate, and understandably, they want what’s on their shelves to sell,” Hank Landau said. “Maybe the products they send to the trash are seasonal, maybe there was a packaging update, or maybe the products just didn’t move fast enough. They don’t want those things on their shelves, and the waste in America is increasing while prices rise. We’re trying to be part of the solution.”
I decided to see how their store could help my family reduce waste and save money, and to personally see if expired foods were as delicious as the Harvard report led me to believe they could be. A stroll through Traders proved the store to be pleasant, well-organized, and clean, with helpful employees on hand. It felt like a mom-and-pop store; simple, straightforward, and interestingly stocked, with a variety of dry and canned foods, shelf-stable milks, medicines, and cleaning and hygiene products. I also noticed plenty of organic and gluten-free products, and a fountain drink station.
My family usually consumes clean label foods (non-GMO products without preservatives or additives), so I tried to locate products that I knew we needed at home or that could save me money in the future, but fit our lifestyle. I found plenty of popular and name-brand products at extremely discounted prices — mustard, Prego pasta sauce, all-fruit juice boxes, high-end protein energy bars, Newman-O’s (mostly organic Oreo-type cookies), and organic cinnamon graham crackers, of which I took three. I just couldn’t help myself.
Much of the food at Traders was past expiration, but some of it was there only because of simple aesthetic issues. Other products looked fine and were in date. The bottle of Prego I purchased was one of several that appeared to have had another bottle broken over them, as the white parts of the labeling were stained pink. I also committed to a box of crackers with a crushed corner; the inner packaging remained intact. I purchased 31 products total, and all 31 were in perfectly good and delicious condition.
If expiration dates are no longer involved in quality control, how can you be sure the items you’re purchasing are still fit for consumption? At Traders, the staff opens up certain lots upon delivery and inspects them. If there’s any discoloration, taste difference, or anything questionable about a product, they’ll send it to the trash.
“If we wouldn’t feed it to our family, we don’t put it on the shelves,” Hank Landau said.
If a consumer finds any product they purchase from Traders to be undesirable, they can return it to the store with a receipt for an exchange within 30 days.
It seems others were as delighted as I to discover the low prices and quality brands available. Enthusiastic customer Tania Gonzalez was back for a second time, bringing a friend and new customer along.
“Last time, I got Oreos for cheap. They were expired [by] a month, but they were perfect,” she said. “They also have the Skinny Cow little bars, which I like. Oh, and I got makeup [that would have] cost me $10 anywhere else.”
The owners are encouraged by the store’s ability to save Southern Utah households money.
“It feels like we’re making an impact; making a difference,” Hank Landau said. “When the price has elasticity, people can afford to fill a grocery cart with food.”
He shared an especially memorable account of a family whose children had only $3 to spend.
“Their dollars stretched further than they could have dreamed,” he said. “The kids were ecstatic to be able to buy treats and drinks for that $3.”
In an economy of excessive waste and increasing prices, Traders is out to make a difference. Perhaps money really can buy happiness.
