Community Hub, Sunflower Discount Market

Ben Franklin coined the famous idiom “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” He apparently didn’t do much grocery shopping, as the rising cost of food surely seems equally inevitable. Luckily for Sarasota, we have Sunflower Discount Market—a grocery store that’s part of a growing trend to curb food waste by bringing otherwise “unsellable” items directly to the consumer.

And to clarify, unsellable doesn’t mean expired or old; it’s simply a catchall term that can be used for products that are seasonal and past their season; products that have been discontinued at the retailer, but the distributor still has inventory; or even products left behind by a change in packaging. Basically products that can’t be sold by the big chains, but are still perfectly fine for consumption.

To glean more insight, we chatted with owner Lisa Crawford about how Sunflower Discount Market came to inception, what the store is doing to combat food waste, and how product dating might not be what many people think it is.

Crawford and her husband, Paul—initially from Colorado—decided to make a move to Fort Myers, which is where they noticed something missing. “Our family loved shopping at a salvage store in Colorado. We loved the concept and the savings. When we arrived [in Florida] we looked for a store like it, and were really disappointed that there wasn’t one. When a small building became available nearby, we decided to take the plunge,” Crawford says.

And the plunge has certainly paid off. The Crawfords, have now successfully opened three markets—one in Fort Myers, one in Englewood, and one here in Sarasota. At this point, you’re likely wondering how this whole operation works.

“We work with companies from small, local micro-producers to multinational corporations to help them reduce their food waste while recovering a small amount of lost revenue and avoiding disposal fees. We view our relationship as a partnership—it’s a win-win for everyone,” Lisa Crawford says.

And there’s one thing Sunflower wishes to emphasize: They’re not selling expired products. “To clarify, most of the time we are not buying products past the expiration. Traditional retailers have guidelines on how long the shelf life must be for them to accept the product and merchandise it on their shelves—often three months or more. Most of the time, we’re buying products that are very short–dated. Therefore many of the products in our stores are not out of date,” she explains.

“Additionally, we receive items for many reasons and product dating is just one of them. There may be package design or size changes, supply chain issues—such as an item being shipped to the wrong warehouse or the wrong variety of a product being shipped—or simply seasonal items.”

The store also offers a slew of items for the health-conscious like salad kits, an assortment of vegan and vegetarian products, and even specialty items that are gluten- free and keto-friendly. So the next time you’re Downtown and looking for groceries that are easy on the wallet and palate, stop into Sunflower Discount Market. They won’t waste your time … or your food.

Sunflower Discount Market: 200 N. Lime Ave., Sarasota., 941-556-9212; sunflowerdiscountmarket.com