Tesco has teamed up with food sharing app OLIO as part of its drive to reduce waste from its stores.
The scheme works with the help of OLIO’s 8,000+ volunteers who visit Tesco outlets to collect surplus food nearing its sell-by date. The food is taken back to their homes, with the items then uploaded onto the OLIO app, ready to be re-distributed free to people living nearby as well as to community groups. OLIO app users pick items up, from an agreed, contact-free collection point.
The roll-out of the partnership follows a six-month trial which was held earlier this year at 250 Tesco stores that had the most food surplus. This is said to have resulted in nearly 195,000 portions of food being saved, almost 4,200 people being fed, and the equivalent of 93,000 meals being saved.
The OLIO tie-up builds on Tesco’s existing food surplus donations programme, including its Community Food Connection scheme with FareShare, which already sees it donate 2 million meals every month to food charities across the UK.
Tesco’s head of communities, Claire De Silva, said: “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.”
Olio co-founder, Tessa Clarke, added: “Our partnership with Tesco means that more people than ever before will be able to benefit from access to surplus food.
“They’ll also be joining our community of neighbours who not only support one another, but also believe that every little counts in the fight against food waste.”
