According to OpenSecrets data, Hy-Vee contributed $199,404 during the current election cycle with no recorded lobbying or outside spending. This indicates a measured level of political engagement without signs of backing authoritarian or far‑right agendas.

Greenpeace USA's 2024 report assessing major U.S. grocery retailers' tuna sourcing practices found that Hy-Vee was one of only two retailers to pass the environmental scorecard with a 66% rating. However, the report also revealed that nearly all retailers, including Hy-Vee, performed poorly on human rights criteria, exposing significant concerns over labor abuses and forced labor conditions within the tuna supply chain.

An opinion piece in The Des Moines Register criticizes Hy-Vee for closing stores in low-income neighborhoods, a move seen as abandoning the community-focused principles that once earned it strong local loyalty. Critics argue that this decision is creating food deserts and neglecting the needs of marginalized Iowans.

A Greenpeace report on sustainability and human rights in tuna sourcing commended Hy-Vee for its transparent practices. The report, which graded major U.S. grocery chains, highlighted Hy-Vee—ranked fourth overall—as an example for retailers by publicly releasing a full list of their supplying vessels. This move is seen as a progressive step toward ensuring accountability in supply chains and mitigating human rights abuses.

Hy-Vee has lost the Des Moines Democrats' Steak Fry contract, reportedly due to its longstanding history of backing GOP candidates through its Employees' Political Action Committee since 2010, which has sparked tensions with Democratic groups.

On July 1, 2022, Hy-Vee voluntarily recalled 10 versions of its potato salad product distributed across multiple Midwestern states after a presumptive positive microbial test was detected on the processing line. The decision was made as a precautionary measure to safeguard consumer health while awaiting definitive FDA results.

Hy-Vee published its private label tuna supplier vessel documentation report on June 13, 2022, following Greenpeace USA's request for greater transparency in the seafood supply chain. The move highlights the company's commitment to revealing details about its supplier practices, aiming to address environmental and labor abuses inherent in the industry.

Hy-Vee’s political action committee and CEO Randy Edeker made several donations to state political campaigns in late 2021, including a $10,000 contribution from the CEO to Governor Kim Reynolds for Iowa. These contributions, predominantly supporting Republican candidates, come at a time when the company was also undergoing layoffs at its corporate headquarters and IT departments, coinciding with state legislative moves to reduce unemployment benefits.

Hy-Vee announced that all of its seafood suppliers have signed a new code of conduct designed to enforce safe working conditions, legal and transparent seafood harvesting, and overall sustainability, in line with international standards guided by the United Nations Global Compact and International Labour Organization guidelines.