How Much Food is Wasted in America?

Each day in the United States approximately one pound of food per person is wasted. This equates to 103 million tons (206 billion pounds) of food waste generated in America in 2017, or between 30-40 percent of the food supply, according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

How much food is wasted in the U.S. can be seen directly through its monetary losses. The annual food waste in America has an approximate value of $161 billion, while the average American family of four throws out $1,500 in wasted food per year.

As it stands, the U.S. is the worldwide leader in food waste generation, with the majority of wasted food being sent to landfills. In fact, food waste is the number one material in American landfills, accounting for 24.1 percent of all municipal solid waste (MSW) according to the EPA.

How did we get here? Knowing how much food is wasted in America each year is only the first step toward tackling a problem that is bigger than the simple monetary loss. The reality of food waste in America is that we live in a country in which more than 54 million people are food insecure (18 million of which are children) according to 2020 data collected by Feeding America. These numbers are up from 37 million and 11 million, respectively, in 2019, with the sharp rise in food insecurity due to the effects of the COVID-19 public health emergency and the subsequent economic downturn. (Rubicon.com) 

Convenience Stores Sell the Most Gas

(Photo: Reddit)

10 Reasons to Stop Buying Gas Station Food

By Dan Rafter

You have a craving for a breakfast burrito and your local gas station sits just a half-block away. Should you turn your wheel and head over?

No!

Gas station food is often loaded with calories and fat. The prices aren't as cheap as you think. And that gas station convenience store might not be the cleanest place in town. Not convinced? Then check out these 10 reasons why buying food or drinks at your local gas station's convenience store is a big mistake.

1. You're Wasting Money That You're Saving at the Pump

Gas prices are falling. On May 4, a gallon of regular gas cost an average of $2.62 around the country, according to AAA's Fuel Gauge Report. That's down from an average of $3.67 a gallon during the first week of May last year. Don't waste the money you're not pumping into your car. Skip the snacks and drive away.

2. We're Already Spending Too Much Inside Gas Stations

According to Convenience Store News, "C-stores" recently enjoyed record in-store sales — sales of items other than gas, basically. In 2014, in-store sales hit $214.9 billion. Think of how much you spent last year inside your local gas station. Now think of what else you could have done with that money.

3. You'll Start Your Day Off on the Wrong Foot

Say you should only consume from 1,600 to 1,800 calories a day. If you start your day with a chicken and cheese biscuit at your local Speedway, you'll consume 500 calories — and 29 grams of fat — for breakfast. If you opt for the sausage, bacon, scrambled egg, and cheese croissant, you'll scarf down 590 calories and 39 grams of fat. And it's all downhill from there.

4. What You Think Is Healthy Might Not Be

You'd think a wrap would be a healthier alternative to a hamburger or hotdog, but this isn't always the case. The chicken pepper jack wrap offered by FiveStar gas stations, for example, contains 764 calories and 37 grams of fat.

5. Getting Creative Can Get You in Trouble

The Sheetz gas station chain offers what it calls a walking taco — basically a taco in a bag that's easy to eat when you're, well, walking around. You can build your own walking taco at Sheetz, and that's where you can get into trouble. If you're adventurous enough to build a walking taco that includes Doritos, grilled chicken strips, Mexican black beans and rice, and something called boom-boom sauce, you will have created a treat with 760 calories and 38 grams of fat.

6. Coffee Will Kill You

Coffee drinks can be especially hard on your waistline at your local gas station. A medium mocha drink at Sheetz with 2% reduced-fat milk and chocolate mocha sauce clocks in at 660 calories and eight grams of fat. That's a lot of calories to drink.

7. Even Non-Coffee Drinks Can Hurt

A 22-ounce Coca-Cola Classic fountain drink at Speedway comes with 183 calories. That might not seem like a lot, but drink three of these — which isn't an unusually high number for many — and you've consumed 549 calories. That's about one third of the 1,800 calories that many people aim for, and those calories don't include a bite of real food.

The Slurpee offered by 7-11 comes with about 99 calories for a 12-ounce serving. That might not seem like a lot, either, but Calorie King says that you'd have to walk for 27 minutes or jog for 11 to burn off those 99 calories. And, again, you're not really eating any food for those calories.

8. Gas Station Food Isn't Always That Cheap

You might think you're spending pocket change at the gas station. But consider this example: You can buy a 20-ounce plastic bottle of Diet Pepsi at your local gas station convenience store for as high as $1.89 a bottle. Why not just buy a two-liter bottle of diet pop instead? You can find generic two-liter bottles for as low as 79 cents at some chain grocery stores. (And don't complain about the taste: Close your eyes and you can barely tell the difference between generic diet pop and the big two.)

9. You Don't Know How Long Food Has Been Sitting Out

Ever picked up a candy bar at your local gas station only to find dust on the package? Who knows how long that treat has been sitting on the shelf waiting for someone like you to pick it up? It's true, too, that you don't know how long your food has been sitting around before you order it at a typical fast-food or fast-casual restaurant. The same holds true at your local grocery store. But when there's dust on your Snickers bar? It's time to move on.

10. Gas Stations Aren't Always Clean

Many gas station owners keep their convenience stores clean. Many others, though, do not. Check out the bathroom; if you don't want to be in there, you probably don't want to buy anything to eat from the rest of the store, either. If the inside of the bathroom is gross, it's a safe bet that the inside of the Slurpee machine is gross, too. (wisebread.com)

U.S. Convenience Store Sales Hit $860 Billion 

Real growth in sales despite inflation and an increase in DSOE. 

Convenience stores saw record sales in stores in 2023, according to newly released data from the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS).

Total convenience industry sales in 2023 were $859.8 billion, of which $327.6 were from in-store sales. The average basket—what customers spent per visit—increased 3.7% to $7.80.

Overall, total industry foodservice sales—which includes prepared food; commissary; and hot, cold and frozen dispensed beverages—represented 26.9% of in-store sales, up 1.3 percentage points in 2023 from the year prior. Profits from foodservice were even more impressive: 37.3% of total in-store profits.

Four of the five categories that comprise foodservice made the top 10 in-store sales categories, led by prepared food, which grew 12.2% to $51,500 per store per month, making it the No. 1 category for in-store sales. Other foodservice categories in the top 10 were hot dispensed beverages, cold dispensed beverages and commissary items.

Convenience stores, which sell an estimated 80% of the fuel purchased in the country, saw total fuels sales decrease in 2023 to $532.2 billion, largely as a result of lower gas prices, which decreased 11.2% to $3.53 in 2023. Fuels sales accounted for 67.3% of revenues, but only 38.6% of profits for the convenience store industry in 2023.

Factoring in both transactions at the pump and inside the store, the average convenience store had 45,312 transactions per month in 2023, or 1,491 per day, which is a 0.4% decrease from the year prior.

The industry metrics were released this week during the NACS State of the Industry Summit, the industry’s most comprehensive data-focused event.

Beyond the continued consumer embrace of convenience store food and beverages, two additional factors helped push in-store sales higher. First, as other brick and mortar retail channels experienced a shrinking store count, the convenience industry store count increased 1.5% for the second consecutive year to reach 152,396 stores. Second, inflationary pressures, while lessened from 2022, impacted prices. The consumer price index, which measures price changes over time, was 5.7% for 2023. Still, in-store sales showed real growth beyond store count and inflation.

Costs Also Increase
Despite positive sales growth, direct store operating expenses climbed 3.3% to $150.1 billion in 2023, with wages and benefits representing the largest operating cost at $84.2 billion.

Average wages for full-time employees increased 30 cents to $14.73 per hour; part-time employees earned an average of $13.86 per hour. Cumulatively, the convenience store industry provided 2.74 million jobs across the United States in 2023.

Overall, the industry paid or collected $208 billion in taxes, which is 24% of total sales dollars at convenience stores in 2023. On a per-store basis, taxes collected averaged nearly $1.4 million. It’s estimated that stores also paid $4.4 billion in swipe fees on these taxes collected for the local, state and federal governments.

Complete analysis of industry data and trends will be detailed in the NACS State of the Industry Report® of 2023 Data, which will be published in June. (convenience.org)

The American Dream in the Back of a Sunoco

Thousands of restaurants in gas stations and truck stops are owned by immigrants selling the kinds of comfort foods they wish they could find outside their own homes (eater.com)

For the full article, click the link:

The American Dream

Best Practices To Reduce Gas Station And Convenience Store Waste

By Carmine Esposito, National Waste Associates

While there are many methods to improve the success of your business, it’s well known that one of the most reliable involves eliminating unnecessary costs. Waste is one such cost center that shouldn’t be ignored, even if it’s a relatively small part of your operations. As with all direct costs, any savings generated by reducing the volume of waste goes directly to boosting your bottom line.

There are a number of simple actions that your gas stations and convenience stores can take to reduce the amount of trash that they send to landfill, which we look at in this article.

Store Practices to Reduce Unnecessary Organic Waste
Distribute Surplus Food to Charities

Given the perishable nature of fresh food, gas station convenience stores will always end up with some surplus produce. However, rather than throwing out unsold edible food, it is possible to identify networks to provide surplus edible food to charities.

Lots of local organizations and food banks take donations, with non-liability written into national legislation such as The Good Samaritan Food Donation Act, which specifically protects food donors. Organizations that accept excess food for human consumption usually have their own standards, which require that the food is properly stored and handled, and within expiration dates.

California’s AB1383 organic legislation encourages food donation for human consumption as a way to keep more food out of landfills and as an alternative to composting.

Check out our article by clicking here that gives other practical solutions to reduce the amount of organic waste that your gas stations and convenience stores generate.

Correct Allocation and Positioning of Trash and Recycling Containers
Help your customers to do the right thing by placing waste and recycling bins at every pump. If someone is stopping to pump gas, the chances are that they’re not going to go out of their way to toss their water bottle in the recycling. They’ll most likely end up tossing it in whatever bin is closest, or worse, litter on your lot.

Don’t make the mistake of only having a trash can near the pumps and a recycling bin in the kiosk. Avoid stream contamination by selecting a bank of bins that collects all your streams, and use separate bags for each stream so there’s less of a risk of contamination.

This won’t just help to reduce your waste volumes, but will also help to keep your recyclable streams cleaner. See our article by clicking this link for the other simple steps your gas stations can follow to keep your recycling streams as clean as possible.

Use Recycling Containers with Rigid Liners to Prevent Liquid Spills on the Lot
Because gas station and convenience store customers are in a rush, they’re unlikely to take the time to empty out any liquids into an appropriate area. So, prepare your recycling program with liquid capture solutions to prevent liquid waste from seeping onto the concrete for your staff to clean up.

Integrate Waste Reduction Methodologies into Staff Training Programs
It really pays to involve your staff in any waste minimization efforts that you wish to implement across the business. The best way to ensure that this happens is to include short waste handling modules in employee onboarding and to develop ongoing training programs.

Include a basic summary of your organization’s waste policy and procedures, and provide practical guidance, in the form of standard operating procedures (SOP’s), on topics such as:

• How to handle packaging to avoid contamination and allow for optimal reuse and recycling
• How to reduce waste volume by flattening cardboard and plastic sheeting
• Identification of materials for reuse or recycling
• Procedures for presenting waste reduction ideas (e.g. packaging change) ideas to management

Best Practice Waste Management with NWA
National Waste Associates (NWA) has decades of experience providing practical, low-cost waste management solutions to our customers. We apply this experience to provide your gas stations and convenience stores with best practice guidance that generates proven savings in the real world. Click this link to learn more.

Our expert team looks at your operations holistically, and provides solutions that are tailored right down to your individual gas stations. This approach provides the greatest savings in the fastest time, prioritizing the areas of the waste operations that are costing you the most.  (nationalwaster.com)