WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (Feb. 1, 2019) — Hy-Vee is announcing a new pilot program with Flashfood, the first and only mobile app that partners with grocers to help reduce food waste by allowing shoppers to browse and purchase food items approaching their “best before” date at significantly reduced prices. Starting today, the Flashfood App and program will be available at both Madison Hy-Vee locations as well as the Fitchburg Hy-Vee store in Wisconsin.
“We’re thrilled Hy-Vee has chosen to participate in reducing their food waste through the Flashfood platform,” said Founder & CEO Josh Domingues. “They have a brand synonymous with innovation and we are excited to offer their products from their Madison and Fitchburg, Wisconsin, locations to our community.”
“At Hy-Vee, we know it’s important that we do our part as grocers to reduce food waste,” said Jessica Ringena, Hy-Vee’s Vice President of Innovation and Business Development. “In 2018 alone, our food waste diversion programs at all our Hy-Vee stores have kept more than 25 million pounds of food waste out of landfills. This partnership with Flashfood is just one more way we can further increase our sustainability efforts.”
Through the partnership, Hy-Vee customers can now purchase high-quality food items at a reduced price. By downloading the Flashfood App, customers can browse through available deals on items like meat, dairy, bread and snacks. Product purchases are then made directly from the customer’s phone and picked up at any time from the Flashfood zone in the grocery store. The program is a convenient way to decrease one’s overall grocery bill while still receiving fresh food items and simultaneously making an impact on the environment by reducing unnecessary food waste.
To date, Flashfood has partnered with five grocery chains to divert more than 100,000 units of food, which is the equivalent greenhouse gas emissions of driving more than 30,000 miles. Flashfood is anticipating to launch in even more stores across the country over the next year. To learn more about Flashfood, visit www.flashfood.com.
Hy-Vee, Inc. is an employee-owned corporation operating more than 245 retail stores across eight Midwestern states with sales of $10 billion annually. The supermarket chain is synonymous with quality, variety, convenience, healthy lifestyles, culinary expertise and superior customer service. Hy-Vee ranks in the Top 10 Most Trusted Brands and has been named one of America’s Top 5 favorite grocery stores. The company’s more than 80,000 employees provide “A Helpful Smile in Every Aisle” to customers every day. For additional information, visit www.hy-vee.com .
The Flashfood app allows for grocery stores to post their high quality, surplus grocery items nearing their best before date. Savvy shoppers can buy items through the app and pick them up in store, at great prices. Flashfood is available on iOS and Android.
