Here in Manhattan, NYC, we have tiers of produce. I can pay $5 for strawberries that could last for some days. Or I can go to one of the fruit stands which has better than average strawberries for $1 and eat half that evening and most of the rest for breakfast and lunch. I might not get 100% good ones but the value is there. I've seen places w tired but very cheep produce out in Brooklyn. I've read about a cohort here called 'freegans' who stake out places at the time the expired prepared stuff is put out on the street, that isn't scalable but a few w mental disabilities, addictions or just starving nonconformists do it.
NYC is a bit of a special case. Regulation makes it hard to operate a larger supermarket, regulation generally makes it so all produce coming into NYC has to spend time coming through Hunts Point.
Go to any supermarket across the river in New Jersey and you'll have vastly higher quality produce.
