Extending Our Partnership With Olio To Tackle Food Waste

Thanks to a huge amount of work from our dedicated colleagues, we’ve already reduced food waste in our food stores by 21% since 2019. It’s a fantastic achievement, but we’re keen to do more.

Which is why we’ve now set our sights on an ambitious new target: to cut food waste by 25% by the end of 2024.

To help us achieve this, we’re expanding our partnership with Olio, an app designed to help local businesses and people fight waste and give people in local communities access to free food and other items.

Earlier this year, we trialled Olio in 10 food stores, using the app to redistribute surplus food to people in need. The results were incredible. In just four weeks, we saved more than 11,000 food items - the equivalent of over 5,000 meals!

Following the success of the trial, we’re rolling out the initiative across 30 stores and to our Warwick head office.

We want to say a big thank you to all the stores and teams who have supported this initiative so far. Your hard work has made this possible.

During the trial, colleagues shared some great feedback about working with Olio. One colleague noted:

"The Olio trial has been a massive help to the store to lower our waste at the end of every night. The volunteers that collect have always been very kind and thankful when coming in, and they are always on time."

But the positive impact doesn't stop with our colleagues. The Olio volunteers and those benefitting from the partnership have also shared their appreciation. One volunteer said:

"The friendliness of staff, the variety of food, and the lovely requesters—they’ve told me this is an amazing thing for the town, and they appreciate Co-op joining Olio."

And one Olio user expressed their gratitude, saying:

"We loved our collection! We were able to cook a nutritious meal with the mushrooms and garlic. They went perfectly with the soup we had at home. We’re so grateful for this, especially as we’ve had to cut back on our bills."

If you’re interested in learning more about how Olio works or want to get involved with their volunteering network, you can find out more here - Become An Olio Volunteer (olioapp.com)

Let’s keep doing good together to serve our communities!