Asda expands ‘back of store’ food donation scheme

Asda has entered into a new three-way partnership with food redistribution charity Fareshare and food sharing app Olio that has expanded its ‘back of store’ food donation scheme to 209 UK stores.

The partnership will ensure surplus food, which is just past its best before date but still edible, can be collected from the 209 Asda stores when local charity support may not be available.

Redistribution charity FareShare will connect food sharing app Olio’s food waste heroes with their local Asda stores, who in turn share the food with their community free of charge.

The addition of Olio as a food redistribution partner will see over 680 donation slots added to Asda’s back of store donation scheme over the coming weeks.

With their support, the UK supermarket is now aiming to double the amount of surplus food redistributed to those in need.

Chief commercial officer of food at Asda, Kris Comerford, said: “Redistributing surplus food continues to be a priority for our business, and we are proud to be continuing the progress we’ve made to date.

“Through our continued work with Fareshare, we will continue to prioritise local charities in ensuring they receive food donations first and foremost, while our new partnership with Olio will help us to prevent surplus food from going to waste.”

He added: “Increasing the number of donation opportunities and how we work with charity partners means we can provide even more support to local communities – while at the same time reducing food waste.”

Head of FareShare Go, Katie Sadler commented: “We’re incredibly grateful to Asda for supporting our mission to ensure no good food goes to waste.

 “This partnership will continue to ensure charities continue to have access to food throughout the week and, where they aren’t available, Olio’s Food Waste Heroes can step in to collect unsold surplus instead of letting it go to waste.”

Asda’s continued support of FareShare comes as the retailer marked 10 years of its partnership with the charity last November. In that time Asda has saved 16,000 tonnes of surplus food from its stores and depots – the equivalent of over 38 million meals – which was redistributed by its network of over 8,500 charities.