Morrisons is extending its work with food redistribution charity The Bread and Butter Thing (TBBT), to provide quality food for thousands of families in the UK, while at the same time cutting food waste in its UK food-making operations and supply chain.
This year Morrisons plans to redistribute surplus food to 30,000 families in need through TBBT. The supermarket's partnership with TBBT was set up in 2016 and has so far provided two million meals to its members.
The food – amounting to a further 800 tonnes – will come from a range of Morrisons' food-making sites, distribution centres, and UK suppliers. The range of products donated will include fruit and vegetables, meat and fish, prepared food and bread.
TBBT will redistribute the food to families in need of healthy and nutritious meals, following research finding that 80 per cent of adults who received food from TBBT are skipping meals themselves to feed their families.
So far, the partnership has enabled TBBT to double its reach from its Greater Manchester origins. A second TBBT warehouse opened in County Durham in November 2020, new vans will take the fleet to 10, and over 50 hubs are expected to be operational across the north of England by mid 2021. Morrisons support will enable the charity to expand nationally to 100 locations by the start of 2022, it said.
Food factories are the second-highest source of food waste after households, according to food waste charity WRAP. This typically happens because of overproduction, imperfections, mislabelling or because the food runs out of shelf life.
Steven Butts, head of corporate responsibility at Morrisons, said: “Reducing food waste is important to our customers, colleagues and shareholders. We’ve made very strong progress in reducing waste in our supermarkets over many years. But there is still more to do behind the scenes and this extension of our partnership with TBBT will mean that they can do even more for families around the UK while at the same time helping us further reduce wasted food.'
Morrisons has pledged to reduce operational food waste by 50 per cent by 2030, and initiatives so far have included a large-scale . wonky fruit and veg range, donating surplus food from every store, and offering boxes of veg, bakery and deli items for £3.09 via the Too Good to Go App.
