Tesco aims to cut food waste with new partnership
Olio app helps families in need to take advantage of store surpluses
A FAREHAM supermarket is stopping surplus food going to waste and helping feed the local community via its new partnership with an innovative app.
Tesco in Quay Street has partnered with food sharing app and social enterprise Olio to help reduce food waste.
The partnership follows a three-month trial, held earlier this year, at 250 Tesco stores.
This trial saw 195,000 portions of food saved, 4,200 people fed and the equivalent of 93,000 meals saved.
One of the first to take part in the trial was Tracie Lindsey, from Fareham, who was the local point of contact for those who downloaded the app. Tracie, 50, said: ‘This is a great new project to get involved in and it means my food is shared with lots of different people – local families, work colleagues, charity helpers, the elderly, family and friends.’
Anyone downloading the app is able to see food items nearing their expiry date and available to be collected in their area for free, via a noncontact pick-up.
The scheme works with the help of Olio’s 8,000 local volunteer Food Waste Heroes who visit Tesco stores to collect the surplus food.
The food is taken back to their homes, with the items immediately uploaded onto the Olio app, ready to be re-distributed free to those living nearby, as well as to community groups.
Claire De Silva, Tesco head of communities, said: ‘We are very proud of our food waste work.
‘Right now we want to make sure that any surplus food is being managed and people who need it have access to it.
The results of our initial trial were very positive and have allowed us to further roll out the partnership in our commitment to make sure no good food goes to waste.’
In return for their efforts, Food Waste Heroes are allowed to keep 10 per cent of what they collect from stores.
Olio is registered with the Food Standards Agency, which ensures that all food collected is safe for human consumption.
Tessa Clarke, Olio co-founder, said: ‘Our partnership with Tesco means that more people than ever before will be able to benefit from access to surplus food.’