With its main aisle lined with bins of potatoes, racks of bagged bread and a rainbow of bell peppers, nectarines, strawberries and blueberries, Vindeket Foods was prepared for its usual flood of grocery shoppers one Tuesday afternoon in late July.
Shoppers grabbed items from the long line of produce and dry goods before moving onto Vindeket Foods’ fridge and freezer section, where glowing cases of frozen Texas toast, gluten-free bread, yogurt and cheese awaited them.
At the end, they were greeted with a volunteer-run checkout station. But unlike at your regular grocery store, the volunteer on duty — or participant, as they’re called at Vindeket — doesn’t scan any barcodes or weigh your produce.
That’s because all the products at Vindeket Foods are free. While donations are accepted — and keep its operations going — the volunteer-run food rescue’s mission is to reduce food waste in Northern Colorado.
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