more free food!
By Kelli M
@spiderdust (14741)
San Jose, California
November 9, 2022 2:55pm CST
Today is my day off from work, but I stopped by this morning to drop off something for a coworker. While there, she told me to stop by the loading bay in the back. Second Harvest hadn't come by to pick up the donations and there were cartfuls of items that were likely to be discarded if employees didn't take them home.
There was a good bit of baby food, which I don't need, and I know a coworker will probably take these over to the family shelter in town. There was also a large amount of Halloween candy, which I also don't need. I did find several things that we can use and will keep for a little while on the shelf still!
I picked up one box of chocolate-flavored cereal, 3 jars of creamy peanut butter, a jar of cashew-peanut butter with honey and flaxseed, a container of sour cream, a container of burrata cheese (can be used like fresh mozzarella), 2 1/2-gallons of 2% milk, 2 boxes of pho broth concentrate (one beef, one veggie -- my kids like pho and I have rice noodles on hand, so this will be an easy soup to throw together some night), 3 boxes of macaroni & cheese, 2 shelf-stable jars of ranch dip, 6 cans of chicken broth with carrots and bunny shaped noodles (nice to have on hand when people are sick), and a bag of Halloween themed veggie chip snack packs.
There was a lot that I didn't take... flamin' hot flavored veggie chips, cartons of oat milk, large containers of yogurt, an entire carrot cake, several containers of pasta salad from the deli, and SO MUCH HALLOWEEN CANDY that I didn't need at all. Still, I didn't expect to get anything at all today since I wasn't actually working and most of these items usually go to Second Harvest.
Have you had any pleasant surprises so far today?
10 people like this
11 responses
@DaddyEvil (137145)
• United States
9 Nov 22
Wow! It's nice that your store lets you take that kind of stuff home. Walmart won't let employees take stuff home or donate stuff like that to any other place. It all goes into the compactor at the back of the store.
Pretty and I do shop in the clearance food section, knowing that just because something is going "out-of-date" doesn't mean there's anything wrong with it.
We bought some Halloween candy the day after Halloween at half price. It stores for a long time, too. And who doesn't like Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, even if they do look like pumpkins?
3 people like this
@DaddyEvil (137145)
• United States
9 Nov 22
@spiderdust On the first of every month Walmart put out a cake for the birthdays that month and otherwise, had Christmas and Thanksgiving dinner catered by the deli in our store. That was all the "freebies" we got.
I saw one associate fired because he ate a banana instead of putting it into the compactor at Walmart.
2 people like this
@spiderdust (14741)
• San Jose, California
9 Nov 22
@DaddyEvil I understand the thinking behind a zero-tolerance policy on employee theft, but... I don't think it benefits anyone to throw food in the trash.
I am very fortunate to work for the company that I do.
2 people like this
@spiderdust (14741)
• San Jose, California
9 Nov 22
The pumpkin-shaped peanut butter cups I got for free yesterday are the Choco Love brand (and sold for $10!), but they'll be just as enjoyed as if they were Reese's.
Yes, the food freebies are talked about in the orientation packet as a "work perk". 
If employees are hungry, there's always a loaf of bread and a jar of peanut butter (and sometimes other nut butter) in the breakroom, plus there's usually a box of day-old pastries there too. It's a shame for useable things to just go in the trash.
If employees are hungry, there's always a loaf of bread and a jar of peanut butter (and sometimes other nut butter) in the breakroom, plus there's usually a box of day-old pastries there too. It's a shame for useable things to just go in the trash.2 people like this
@kobesbuddy (74528)
• East Tawas, Michigan
9 Nov 22
They are wonderful to your family, to say the least! Your children eat like King's and Queens
2 people like this
@spiderdust (14741)
• San Jose, California
9 Nov 22
I hope they will drink the milk. It's not a brand I usually buy as it's quite expensive, but I've seen it around for a while. A few of them can tell a difference in taste when it comes out of a carton as opposed to a plastic jug.
3 people like this
@kobesbuddy (74528)
• East Tawas, Michigan
9 Nov 22
@spiderdust I tried mixing powdered milk with regular milk, when my children were little. The could tell right away and didn't like it. Of course, I stopped doing this.
1 person likes this
@spiderdust (14741)
• San Jose, California
9 Nov 22
@kobesbuddy Yeah, I've done that too. My mom used to do it when I was growing up so it doesn't bother me, but it doesn't save any money if no one will drink it.
They can even tell if I mix liquid whole milk with liquid skim milk to make 2% milk. These kids!
1 person likes this
@popciclecold (35085)
• United States
9 Nov 22
You are so blessed. That was a lot of food.
1 person likes this
@spiderdust (14741)
• San Jose, California
10 Nov 22
@popciclecold I was afraid the peanut butter would all be something weird that the kids wouldn't want, like pumpkin spice. I was thrilled to discover they were just regular peanut butter! I think even the cashew peanut butter will be happily eaten.
@spiderdust (14741)
• San Jose, California
9 Nov 22
It's all things that we will use, too! Well, the cereal is a bit of a gamble as it's a keto cereal that none of us have tried. It's chocolate though, and usually the kids are all about chocolate-flavored cereals. I guess if they hate it, at least it didn't cost anything.
1 person likes this
@LeaPea2417 (36434)
• Toccoa, Georgia
9 Nov 22
That's wonderful that you were able to have some of that food.
2 people like this
@spiderdust (14741)
• San Jose, California
9 Nov 22
Yes, I just happened to be in the right place at the right time.
2 people like this
@LadyDuck (457973)
• Switzerland
11 Nov 22
@spiderdust Grocery has become so much more expensive in the past 4 months. Inflation is higher than what they want us to believe.
1 person likes this
@spiderdust (14741)
• San Jose, California
11 Nov 22
If I had purchased them at full price, those items would have cost over $150.00 USD. Even if I apply my employee discount, they would cost around $105.00 USD.
1 person likes this
@spiderdust (14741)
• San Jose, California
11 Nov 22
@LadyDuck I'm seeing it on the production kitchen side of things too. Lettuce has doubled in price in the past week, even if the kitchen orders it directly from the farm and not a produce distribution company. We can't order sunflower oil right now because most of that is produced in Ukraine, and they're a bit busy right now with the war.
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (205637)
• Walnut Creek, California
10 Nov 22
I have scored some canned apple sauce from the preschool a few weeks ago I haven't eaten it yet, though. Today, a guitar student who was kind of "flip" at his last lesson showed that he had been practicing big-time over the past week.
1 person likes this
@spiderdust (14741)
• San Jose, California
11 Nov 22
@TheHorse Gotcha! For some reason, I assumed they were individual servings.
1 person likes this
@spiderdust (14741)
• San Jose, California
11 Nov 22
Is the apple sauce in the little cups or the pouches?
1 person likes this
@celticeagle (158958)
• Boise, Idaho
9 Nov 22
No surprises today but, last night our neighbor(an immigrant) brought us three loads of food. Their was sandwiches,salad, and yogurt and this was in bags. Lots of stuff. Our fridge is already full but couldn't say no.
1 person likes this
@celticeagle (158958)
• Boise, Idaho
10 Nov 22
@spiderdust ..........It sure is. Our fridge is full and stuff is still in bags.
so all these items stay good for how long after you pick them up? Do they also donate these to the homeless if any? Or that’s not in the policy?@spiderdust (14741)
• San Jose, California
11 Nov 22
They donate to food banks and such, so they help the homeless in those ways. In this case, the food bank never showed up to pick up the donations, so we got to pick what we wanted from them. The remaining items were driven over to the family shelter in town, and they were extremely appreciative of the baby foods and the candy.
Some of the items are good for a week or so (like the milk, sour cream, and fresh cheese), some for a few weeks, and some will be fine for a few months.
@much2say (53960)
• Los Angeles, California
21 Nov 22
You got amazing stuff with plenty left for others to grab (yah, no one really needs all that Halloween candy!). I wish I had that kind of pleasant surprise! The only thing I could really think of at the moment is some flower bulbs we planted last year that never sprouted seem to be sprouting now!
1 person likes this
@much2say (53960)
• Los Angeles, California
29 Nov 22
@spiderdust That was the first time I planted bulbs - so I'm still learning 
.
.1 person likes this
@spiderdust (14741)
• San Jose, California
24 Nov 22
Unexpected flowers are always a nice surprise! Sometimes they take a while to grow.
1 person likes this
@thislittlepennyearns (58134)
• Defuniak Springs, Florida
10 Nov 22
We love the veggie chips! We have the ranch straws here.
1 person likes this
@spiderdust (14741)
• San Jose, California
10 Nov 22
I remember them from your post! I wonder if you would have liked the flamin' hot ones.
@thislittlepennyearns (58134)
• Defuniak Springs, Florida
10 Nov 22
@spiderdust We get the flmain hot ones for the kids. They like them. Brook not as much as Ayden, but still.
I need to get some more. They are good for lunches.
1 person likes this
@spiderdust (14741)
• San Jose, California
10 Nov 22
I saw my coworker walking a Frenchie in a little coat outside the store today! I don't think it was his, he's mentioned dog-sitting before.
1 person likes this
@CarolDM (203454)
• Nashville, Tennessee
10 Nov 22
@spiderdust I enjoy seeing the dogs. Makes me miss mine.
1 person likes this
