FareShare FoodCloud pilot will donate food to charities for distribution.
Tesco has unveiled plans for a new scheme called FareShare FoodCloud to be introduced in Tesco stores.
The plan will see 30,000 of the 55,400 tonnes of food currently wasted within Tesco operations distributed via UK charity FareShare and Irish social enterprise FoodCloud to those who need it most.
These 30,000 tonnes of food are perfectly edible, but are currently being binned.
Food 'theft'?
There have been several notable cases in the last few years where people taking out-of-date and discarded food from supermarket bins have found themselves prosecuted.
Three men accused of 'stealing' food from bins outside an Iceland store in North London in 2013 had the charges against them dropped, and financially desperate couple Kerry and Paul Barker were arrested earlier this year after removing out-of-date food from the rubbish of a Tesco Express store in Sunderland. That case was taken to court, where the judge threw the case out, asking “how else could they manage?”
It is the Crown Prosecution Service, not the supermarkets, that brings charges against alleged offenders.
However, both of these cases provoked conversations over the morality of wasting food, thereby keeping it from those who need it most.
Tesco's trial
Tesco now seems to be responding to the debate by acting to actively redistribute its surplus stock.
Tesco store managers will now alert the charities to the fact that there is a pile of surplus food available for collection at their stores. If the food is wanted, the charities can confirm their interest and have it retrieved.
Tesco CEO Dave Lewis said: “No one wants to throw away food which could otherwise be eaten.
“This is potentially the biggest single step we’ve taken to cut food waste, and we hope it marks the start of eliminating the need to throw away edible food in our stores.”
The scheme is already in place at Irish Tesco stores, and will now be piloted in 10 Tesco stores around the UK.
Tesco says that every effort is made to ensure that surplus food goes to those who need it. Failing this, it is recycled and used to feed farm animals or used for biofuels.
Are you pleased to hear of Tesco's plans? Do you hope other retailers follow suit? Let us know in the Comments below.
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