This is the TJ Maxx for food, and it may be your new fave supermarket
Grocery shopping can be a mega-drain on your bank account, which can cause huge problems for families with limited financial means. Although stores like Trader Joe’s, Aldi, and the upcoming Whole Foods lower-cost chain have made access to healthy and affordable food a priority, a new store is going a step further. Daily Table isn’t just selling food at insanely low prices — they are also working within the community to help ensure food doesn’t go to waste.
Daily Table was started by former Trader Joe’s president Doug Rauch, and the first store opened on Thursday in Dorchester, MA. The plan is to work with local restaurants, other stores and manufacturers to source food that may be past its sell-by date but is still safe to eat, and sell it at a deep discount. According to the store’s website, 80 billion pounds of food goes to waste every year in the US, and that’s a problem the store wants to tackle.
They also want to address the issue of food insecurity, an all-too-common problem families living in poverty face. For those struggling to make ends meet, eating a fully balanced nutritional diet can be an economic hardship they just can’t take on, and for many a lack of time to cook only adds to that burden. The Daily Table website states that about 14.5% of households struggle with food insecurity, with that number rising to 40% for families below the poverty line. But with prices as low as 29 cents for a pound of carrots and 99 cents for a dozen eggs, The Daily Table is hoping to make a difference.
In order to make their stores competitive, the low costs are combined with easy to cook and grab-and-go options. From their website: “Daily Table is a new kind of retail grocery store that will offer fresh produce and grocery items as well as ready-to-cook and grab-n-go prepared meals at truly affordable prices. Our healthy meal options will be priced to compete with the fast-food alternatives in the neighborhood.”
Right now, the only location is in Dorchester, but there are plans to expand throughout the country. Given the huge need for the services Daily Table is providing, we hope to see them in neighborhoods soon!
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