'We Get Fired If We Eat Them' - Dunkin' Worker Claims They Have To Throw Away Hundreds Of Donuts Every Night

Wasting food is terrible when so many people are starving. A now-viral TikTok video, viewed more than 12.3 million times, exposes Dunkin' Donuts' food waste to consumers.

The video, shared by user @korrbs, shows two Dunkin' employees throwing away what they claim is around $100 worth of donuts, which they say are perfectly fine to eat. Accompanying the video is a text overlay that reads, "When we're required to throw out $100 worth of donuts but get fired if we eat them."

Many viewers noted that their managers at Dunkin' locations often allow them to take home any extra donuts instead of throwing them out. Nearly 40% of all food in America is wasted, equating to 119 billion pounds of food wasted each year.

That's enough to make 130 billion meals! Food waste occurs at every stage of food production and distribution—from farmers to packers and shippers, from manufacturers to retailers to our homes. Food waste in our homes accounts for about 39% of all food waste—approximately 42 billion pounds.

At the same time, commercial food waste makes up about 61% of all food waste, or 66 billion pounds. Many things need to change, and we all must put in an effort.

Watch the video below:

With approximately 12,900 locations in 42 countries, Dunkin' is one of the largest coffee shop and donut shop chains in the world. Its products include donuts, bagels, coffee, and "Munchkins" donut holes.

Dunkin

A now-viral TikTok video, viewed more than 12.3 million times, exposes Dunkin' Donuts' food waste to consumers.

If this video made you angry, you are not alone. However, comments below the video indicate that this is not a common practice in all Dunkin' restaurants.

“I work at Dunkin', and our boss actually encourages us to take home donuts that don’t sell,” one commenter wrote.“It just depends where you work; [most] of them let you take them home for free,” another user stated.“My shift leader would always let me take what I wanted home,” a third claimed. “My siblings loved when I worked nights at Dunkin.'”

Others suggested that the excess baked goods could be donated or otherwise given away to avoid being thrown in the trash.

“It just makes no sense to waste food if it's still safe to consume, just not up for sale anymore,” one commenter wrote.“Why don’t they give it to poor people or to charity? This is so sad,” another suggested.“You should check out the app Too Good To Go and see if your managers would consider joining that!” a third added.

Throwing away food while millions face food insecurity is simply awful.

A record 349 million people across 79 countries are facing acute food insecurity – up from 287 million in 2021. This constitutes a staggering rise of 200 million people compared to pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels. More than 900,000 people worldwide are fighting to survive in famine-like conditions. This is ten times more than five years ago, representing an alarmingly rapid increase.