It's easy to hate Loblaws these days as the supermarket giant continues to rake in hundreds of millions in quarterly profits while charging ever more shocking prices for basic grocery staples.

But as much as the Canadian public likes to consider the company one of the key perpetrators behind our disgracefully high cost of food, there are a few misconceptions floating around about its operations, including about what its stores do with old product.

A recent Reddit post showing what one customer called "fresh food being discarded at the end of the day" at their local Loblaws has turned into a free-for-all of angry consumers disparaging the grocer — one of just three big names in Canada's competition-devoid market — especially amid the cost of living crisis.

"One in 10 Torontonians rely on food banks. This is a portion of the fresh food discarded tonight at Loblaws," wrote the individual, who took the photos around 9 p.m. Tuesday at the location near St. Clair and Bathurst.

"Employee confirmed it was all being discarded. Meanwhile, just on the other side of the checkouts are multiple bins soliciting donations from customers — of food and toys we've paid Lord Galen [Weston Jr.] for first, of course."

1 in 10 Torontonians rely on food banks, this is a portion of the fresh food discarded tonight at Loblaws
byu/Appropriate-Salary35 intoronto

With this framing and everything else that has been going on with Loblaws in recent years, it is understandable why hundreds of residents were riled up in the comments section of the post, with many wondering why seemingly edible food is not donated.

But, a representative from Loblaw Companies Ltd. tells blogTO that whatever staff member this shopper spoke with was incorrect, as Loblaws has a number of interesting and admittedly surprising food waste initiatives in place.

"We are committed to reducing the amount of food we send to landfill, with a goal of zero food waste from our operations by 2030. We've already reduced it by 50 per cent," they say, adding that the company makes it a priority "to make sure good food ends up on peoples' plates, including the most vulnerable."

But, of course, there are cases when food is no longer fit for consumption and will not be accepted by food banks or other charitable groups, including if a product is past its listed best-before date. And, in these cases, Loblaws still does not actually toss the food in the trash.

Instead, they work with some rather unique partners to still make use of the old grub, including co-operatives like ZooShare, which combines food waste with manure from the animals at the Toronto Zoo to create the renewable power source biogas.

This is then fed into the grid in a project that is the first of its kind in Canada, and which creates enough energy to power 250 homes locally.

As Loblaw explains, the food depicted in the Reddit post was being prepared to send off to ZooShare specifically.

"We work with some really innovative partners to make sure the food still goes to good use and doesn't end up in landfill," they say. "ZooShare is doing really amazing work in this area, we strongly urge people to check them out."