Why Andrew Zimmern Is A Big Fan Of Aldi

Over the years, Andrew Zimmern has made a name for himself as a proponent, champion, and admirer of some of the least familiar cuisine-related things out there. Fans of his long-running Travel Channel show, "Bizarre Foods," have seen Zimmern eating some truly unique things. After the program was canceled in 2018, the celebrity chef has kept himself busy with various projects. Though Zimmern's tastes might historically run toward the eccentric (at least onscreen), though his later venture, 2020's "What's Eating America," Zimmern has made it clear that he's not afraid to dip his spoon in America's various social, political, and economic issues — all through the filter of food, of course (via Andrew Zimmern's official website). 

Knowing all this, it may be surprising to learn that Zimmern has recently become enamored with Aldi, a German grocery store chain that, at a passing glance, doesn't immediately click with either aspect of Zimmern's public profile. However, as always, there's more to the no-frills grocery chain than meets the eye.

Andrew Zimmern isn't just a fan of Aldi — as an Aldi press release sent to Mashed attests, the two have actually teamed up to reduce food waste. In a hour-long Instagram Live on his official Instagram account, Zimmern elaborated on his decision to choose Aldi as his partner on this quest, praising the chain for "making sustainability and eating well more affordable for more Americans, full stop." Zimmern went on to say that he considers Aldi "one of the best companies in the country at doing that, and I admire them tremendously for it."

Those are strong words, but since Zimmern and Aldi are on an important mission, trust is clearly required. After all, as much as 30% to 40% of the U.S. food supply goes to waste, according to the press release, which means as much as 220 pounds of totally edible food per person are lost every year. If you prefer to look at the large scale, the accompanying text in Zimmern's Instagram post reveals the problem's immensity. "Addressing food waste is imperative, with an estimated 72 billion pounds of perfectly good food ending up in landfills and incinerators in America every year," he wrote. "There is plenty of food to go around and getting that food onto the tables of those who need it is one of the greatest challenges facing our society." Fortunately, Zimmern and Aldi are now on the case, and Aldi has already promised to donate $100,000 to Feeding America in order to help their Food Recovery program.