An Aldi shopper tried to buy two loose onions for her pot roast. Then she says the cashier refused and threw them away: ‘For your safety’

A shopper said she stopped at Aldi on a Sunday evening for pot roast ingredients and found the onion bins nearly empty. In a Reddit post, she wrote that the store sells onions in 3-pound bags, but only a few loose bulbs were left. She said she took two of them, finished the rest of her shopping, and went to the register.

She said the cashier told her, “We dont sell them individually, sorry.” She wrote that she offered to scan another $3 item a second time, offered cash, and offered to pay for a full bag so she could keep the two onions. She said the cashier turned down each offer.

She wrote that she then asked, “So, what, are you just going to throw them away??” According to her post, the cashier said, “Yes,” and added, “Its policy. For your safety.” She said she replied, “My safety?? They literally grow IN the dirt.” She wrote that the cashier threw the onions away anyway. She said she was later parked at a second grocery store, making an extra stop for onions she had already held.

Shoppers and workers described how some stores handle loose produce

In the post, the shopper said the onions would sit in a plastic trash bag instead of going home with her. She wrote that she was using more gas for another stop. She also wrote, “This world doesnt make sense anymore,” and said she was already PMSing when the exchange sent her “into an existential spiral.” She added, “I miss my onions,” and wrote, “I should have just stolen them.” She noted in an edit that she was not typing while driving.

In the comment section, some commenters said their own Aldi or other stores give loose onions away or set them aside for food banks, while others wrote that refusing them avoids customers opening bags to get produce for free. They wrote, “My aldi gives them away. Same situation, and she just gave me the onion. She told me that they donate the loose ones. I dont know if she meant to customers or elsewhere.” 

A commenter who said they work at Aldi described a back-room process rather than an immediate trash bin. They wrote, “They usually have a box in the back/the coolers where they put unsellable but still safe foods, and like once a week a food bank or some s–t will come and ferry it off.” Another commenter said they are involved with a food bank and wrote, “I can confirm that in at least some areas this is true.”

A separate commenter said a similar practice exists at a Walmart where they work. They wrote that separated multipack items, and some unclaimed goods left behind by customers, can still go to local food banks a couple of times a week if they were stored properly. Another person said the food shelf where they volunteer “gets TONS of stuff from Walmart.” A commenter who said they work at a domestic-violence shelter wrote that the shelter sometimes receives Aldi drop-offs.

Other commenters treated the refusal as a local decision rather than a universal rule. One wrote, “Pretty sure most Aldi cashier s near me would have just told you to take them.” Another said the outcome “just depends on the employee” and described the cashier in the post as “Mr. grumpy.” Pricing confusion isn’t limited to loose produce, as one grocery store’s breads carried a buy 1 get 0 free label that left shoppers guessing. 

A commenter who said they work at Aldi wrote, “Wow thats honestly just sad. They sh9ukd have at the very least let you pay for them.” That commenter added that bags open on their own often and said loose onions in this kind of case still go to a food pantry at their store, not the garbage. 

Several commenters argued that giving loose onions away can create a different problem. One grocery worker wrote, “The problem with doing that is some people are cool and understand its just a dumb policy, other people are stupid and now think ‘oh if the onions aren’t in a bag, they’re free!’ And then they come back and do things like take the onions out of the bag and demand to be given them for free.”