Goole Tesco store to give all unsold food to charity

The Boothferry Road branch of supermarket giant Tesco is calling on charities and community groups in and around Goole to register for an exciting new scheme which will see unsold food become meals for vulnerable people across the town.

As part of a commitment to cut global wastage, the retailer says it aims to eradicate all food waste at its stores and distribution centres by 2017 by distributing any unsold food from their stores directly to those in need. The plan is part of a nationwide roll-out of a pilot programme called the Community Food Connection.

The scheme recruits and supports charities and community groups, linking them to Tesco stores via an innovative app called ‘FareShare FoodCloud’. The digital open platform allows staff and charities to liaise to distribute their surplus, unsold food items at the end of each day.

The unsold food is free and includes fresh produce, such as fruit, vegetables and bakery products. Chilled products like meat, dairy and ready meals are also offered.

Charities will be able to take items marked with a ‘use by’ date that can be frozen on the evening of its end date. FareShare will provide training on how to do this safely, as well as providing cool boxes to maintain the chill chain during transportation. The charities do not need to take all the surplus food – only what is useful for them.

So far there have been 275,000 meals donated to people in need via Community Food Connection, with 712 charities sign up to the scheme to date.

Rachel Finn, Head of Community Food Programmes, at Tesco said: “No food that can be eaten should go to waste. We’re really excited to start working on this initiative to ensure that any unsold food we have is made use of. We are looking forward to forging strong links with local charities and community groups in Goole, and to use this initiative to support their efforts to help vulnerable people in our community.”

Tesco and FareShare are now calling out for Goole groups to register to benefit from the scheme in the lead up to its launch in mid-May.

Any charities or community groups in Goole using food to support people that would like to access the scheme, should register their interest by visiting www.fareshare.org.uk/fareshare-foodcloud.

Who is eligible?

Not-for-profit organisations or community groups that offer food or meals to support their daily activities. All organisations must handle the food in an Environmental Health Office (EHO) registered premises. If the charities can’t immediately meet the requirements, FareShare can provide support in getting them to the right standards.

As well as organisations providing meals, the scheme can also donate to those that redistribute food; such as foodbanks. However, these organisations will only be permitted to take low-risk foods, like bakery and produce.