Trader Joe’s Opens New Location in Seattle, Earns Praise for Food Waste Stance

Trader Joe’s has opened a new location in Seattle — the sixth of its kind in the city and the 28th in Washington, per The Seattle Times. The store’s grand opening took place on Friday, April 11, and it’s located at the intersection of Greenwood Avenue and North 87th Street.

The new store drew a line of hundreds of people before the doors were even unlocked on opening day, and it has also earned the local community’s praise for its food waste stance.

According to 97.3 KIRO Newsradio, Spike O’Neill, co-host of “The Jake and Spike Show” on KIRO Newsradio, noted that despite having only shopped at the popular store twice in his life, he admired the company’s attitude on food waste.

“Trader Joe’s does something wonderful, and most other grocery stores do it too. But if you’re going to go and visit the new Trader Joe’s in Greenwood, 8700 block of Greenwood, across from the much graffiti-ed and chained off ex-Bartells, as I mentioned earlier, Trader Joe’s makes sure that nothing goes to waste,” he said.

“As little as possible goes to waste,” he continued. “They donate all their unused, edible produce to local food banks and hunger relief organizations, which I think was a wonderful thing to do.”

O’Neill also learned that many grocery chains have grown socially conscious and are attempting to eliminate food waste.

“With so many people needing assistance and so many people struggling to make ends meet, and with funding cut from the federal level all over America to various support systems and support programs for people — it’s nice that a company like Trader Joe’s, or a company like Kroger, who owns QFC and Fred Meyer, and all these big chains,” he said. “They do make great efforts and spend company resources and manpower on making sure that no produce goes to waste and it’s all distributed to families who really need the help these days, because there’s so few people helping these days and I’m glad they’re doing it.”

Trader Joe’s Viral Tote Bags

Meanwhile, last week, the popular grocery chain made headlines when the $2.99 viral mini tote bags were launched to the public on April 8. They quickly sold out, and they are reportedly reselling online for up to 25 times their original buying price.

According to the New York Times, those waiting for the new release camped out in front of stores for hours before they opened. The bags usually sold out within 15 minutes of the store opening. This new edition is available in vibrant green, blue, purple, and pink pastel tones.

“When it comes to our reusable bags, our customers have made themselves abundantly clear: the smaller the tote, the bigger the sensation,” the Trader Joe’s tote bag product page reads. “Last year, when we introduced our Mini Canvas Totes, we were so pleasantly surprised by their rapturous reception that we’re bringing in even more Mini Totes, this time in a series of Pastel shades to herald the beginning of spring.”