Your store throws away 250,000 pounds of food a year. We turn it into of cash tax savings.
SurFlow plugs into your inventory data and acts before food expires: markdown first, so it can still sell, then donation matching with full chain of custody. The result is an auditable §170(e)(3) deduction worth roughly $40,500 per store, per year, in cash tax savings.
The deduction is federal. The documentation is what's missing.
§170(e)(3) lets retailers claim an enhanced tax deduction for every qualifying pound donated, in every state, today. State diversion mandates add pressure on the coasts and are spreading. Most operators capture neither, not because they don't donate, but because they can't document it at scale.
- ✕State food waste mandates are expanding with no standard playbook
- ✕Manual tracking misses items across departments
- ✕No standardized process across locations
- ✕Audit-ready documentation is nearly impossible
- ✕Tax advisors can't value what isn't tracked
for a 50-store chain
Doing well and doing good, made operational.
Every donation SurFlow orchestrates keeps edible food out of the landfill, routes it to people who need it, and returns real money to the grocer through the §170(e)(3) deduction. The impact and the incentive point in the same direction.
The incentive is federal. The mandates are coming.
The §170(e)(3) enhanced deduction is a federal incentive that works in every state, today. On top of it, nine US states have moved commercial food-waste diversion from voluntary to mandatory since 2014, and California now requires large grocers to donate edible surplus. SurFlow is built for both: the incentive available everywhere, and the mandates arriving state by state.
Since 2014, nine US states have enacted laws prohibiting commercial generators, including grocery chains above volume thresholds, from landfilling food waste.
California requires large grocery retailers to donate edible surplus now. In 2029, the qualifying threshold expands, bringing more operators into scope.
Washington’s 2022 organics law directs commercial food waste away from landfills and sets statewide targets for rescuing edible food. The legislative arc is consistent: more operators, more states, tighter timelines.
Numbers operators care about.
Detect. Markdown. Donate. Document.
Markdown first, to give food a chance to sell. Donation matching for what doesn't. Chain of custody captured at every step, in one system of record.
Detect surplus
SurFlow plugs into your existing inventory data, applying deterministic rules to flag items approaching expiration. It runs every day with no manual scanning, building a continuous surplus history your compliance and finance teams can rely on.
Markdown, then donate
Flagged items go to markdown first, giving them a chance to sell. What doesn’t sell routes to donation matching with a nearby food bank. Staff receive clear instructions, and pickups are logged with timestamps, weights, and partner confirmation, generating the audit trail behind every §170(e)(3) claim.
Document & recover
§170(e)(3) valuations are calculated automatically. IRS-ready documentation is generated per donation, per store, per period, exportable in one click for your tax advisors. Over time, SurFlow becomes the authoritative record your tax team, operations, and auditors all pull from.
Most operators piece together donation records from spreadsheets, email chains, and store-level judgment. SurFlow replaces that with one system of record for surplus detection, markdown, donation routing, and compliance documentation, standardized across every location from day one. And unlike tools that act after a store has already given up on the food, SurFlow works upstream, before it expires.
Different teams. One system.
Every stakeholder gets exactly what they need, without extra configuration.
For Grocery Operators
- Live visibility into expiring inventory
- Clear surplus-to-donation workflows
- Reduced shrink from discarded product
For Finance Leaders
- Automated §170(e)(3) valuation logic
- Audit-ready documentation by store
- Recovery reporting tied directly to P&L
For Sustainability Teams
- Standardized donation tracking
- Verified pounds & emissions avoided
- Compliance-ready ESG reporting
Built for complex operations.
SurFlow runs inside multi-location grocery environments, working securely with the data you already have while standardizing operations across every store.
Security & Compliance
Encryption at rest and in transit, role-based access, and full audit logging across every store and every donation record.
Works with your data
Plugs into the inventory data you already have, starting with simple exports. Direct POS and ERP integrations are on our roadmap. No rip-and-replace required.
White-glove onboarding
Dedicated onboarding, training, and ongoing optimization, designed to work with real store operations.
Multi-location management
Centralized visibility with store-level flexibility. Standardize without slowing local teams.
Find out exactly how much
your operation is leaving behind.
We'll model your 30-day recovery using your store count, department mix, and inventory patterns. No commitment. Just the number.
No POS replacement. No commitment. Customized to your operation.