A TikTok star is going viral after revealing how she manages to collect up to twelve containers of unsold Costco fruit each week to feed her farm animals.
In a clip viewed nearly 600,000 times, Stefanie Scott explained to her followers about Costco’s unsold food program, which allows customers to take away products that are about to expire.
The video shows Scott purchasing 12 containers of fruit from his local store, although he admits it was an unusually large haul as he normally only grabs seven or eight.
The haul included asparagus, apples, bananas, green beans, broccoli, apples, Brussels sprouts, sweet potatoes and a “mystery” fruit.
A TikTok star is going viral after revealing how she manages to collect up to twelve containers of unsold Costco fruit each week to feed her farm animals. The clip has been viewed almost 600,000 times.
It is part of Costco sustainability commitment to “keep food out of landfills, whether by creating a new product, donating it to people in need, or feeding it to animals.”
Scott, of Enumclaw, Wash., said PEOPLE: ‘My dad knew a man whose wife worked at our local Costco, and they actually already had a farmer who was picking up the (unsold) produce, but he was going to stop and, honestly, we were lucky and were able to take us on those trucks .
The 35-year-old woman and her husband use the produce to feed the family farm, which is home to 18 cows that go through a container full each day.
He added: ‘Costco employees will load the pallets onto our trailer with a forklift and we will take them home to unload.
‘Sometimes we give fruit to our chickens (they love grapes) or to our pigs, but mostly only to the cows because they eat the most. Some items are visibly moldy, others appear to have fallen off and others look completely undamaged.’
Although it’s known as “unsold” fruit, he explained that most of it has never made it to shelves because it doesn’t meet certain food safety standards.
She said: “If a packet of strawberries has a moldy one on it, it becomes a food safety issue and they have to throw away the whole packaging.” Therefore, it is common for us to enter a strawberry with mold in a bunch that looks completely in good condition.”
Other unsold Costco foods, such as bread and processed products, are donated to food banks and shelters.
The wholesaler’s unusual business model means more stuff is wasted.
Scott, of Enumclaw, Washington, explained that she and her husband used the product to feed their farm animals, including 18 cows.
Other unsold Costco foods, such as bread and processed products, are donated to food banks and shelters.
Scott explained: “Because Costco sells wholesale and everything has to be a specific weight, if a package of bananas has a damaged one, they have to throw away the entire package, unlike a grocery store that might tear out the bad one.” . and sell the rest.
It comes after Costco made headlines last month amid a crackdown on a loophole in its outdoor food courts.
The new rules require staff to ask to see a Costco membership card to make purchases at its 18 outdoor food courts across the United States.
Until now, staff had turned a blind eye to non-members stopping by for their iconic $1.50 hot dog and soda combo at the outdoor food courts.
Staff typically check cards as customers enter stores, meaning non-members typically can’t eat in indoor food courts. But waiters at food courts outside parking lots almost never check it. That has changed with the new rule.