Trader Joe’s fights hunger for everyone, not just its customers.

According to the grocery shop chain’s website, “100% of products that go unsold but remain fit to be enjoyed” are donated every day from every location. The Trader Joe’s Neighborhood Shares Program includes this activity.

In 2024, the then-579 shops nationwide—there are 592 locations as of Sept. 10, according to a Trader Joe’s representative—will contribute 98 million pounds of excess food. Every day, the program distributes tens of millions of pounds of items to over 2,000 partners.

Initiatives like City Harvest, Feeding San Diego, Extra Food, and Sharing Excess are part of the “ever-evolving” network of local groups.

The statistics for the initiative’s 2025 donations have not yet been revealed, but a source informed PEOPLE that they would be available on January 1, 2026.

In the Inside Trader Joe’s podcast, fans learned about some of the retailer’s idiosyncrasies, such as why employees ring bells and whether employees are encouraged to flirt with customers.

Tara Miller and Matt Sloan, podcast hosts, revealed how corporations determine where to establish new facilities in a 2024 episode. They explained how population density and parking availability are two significant considerations.

Ultimately, the corporation considers factors such as accessibility, ease of entry and exit, and the flow of traffic patterns.

Unfortunately for fans, petitions do not influence Trader Joe’s decision.

“People get so excited about the prospect of one of our stores coming to their neighborhood that they start a social media campaign, or they start a letter-writing campaign,” Miller told me. Sloan followed by disclosing the unpleasant truth: “While we love the energy and enthusiasm often expressed in any of those various social media campaigns…they really don’t have much, if any, impact on what we end up deciding.”