Asda announces expanded food donation programme

Today, Asda has announced an expansion of its comprehensive ‘back of store’ food donation scheme, which will see the retailer enter into a new three-way partnership with long-standing food redistribution charity FareShare and local food sharing app Olio.

The partnership with Fareshare and Olio will ensure surplus food, which is just past its best before date but still edible, can be collected from 209 of Asda’s stores when local charity support may not be available. FareShare local food charities will still be prioritised in receiving donations, as Asda aims to double the amount of surplus food redistributed.

FareShare will connect 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, helping stores to redistribute food where charities aren’t available to collect and ensuring any surplus food can be donated to those in need.

Asda’s continued support of FareShare comes as the retailer marked ten years of its partnership with the charity last November. In that time, the retailer has provided 16,000 tonnes of surplus food from its stores and depots, the equivalent of over 38 million meals. This food has since been redistributed by FareShare to their network of over 8,500 charities and community groups in the process.

Kris Comerford, Chief Commercial Officer – Food, 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.

“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”.

Katie Sadler, Head of FareShare Go said: “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 decade-long support of FareShare has helped us rescue millions of meals and help strengthen communities via our network of 8,500 charities, from afterschool clubs and breakfast clubs, to homelessness charities and hospices.”

Saasha Celestial One, Olio's co-founder and COO, Olio, said: “We're thrilled that ASDA has introduced Olio to 266 of its stores alongside FareShare, to make sure that even more ASDA food gets redistributed to local people. We feel incredibly proud to be working with another retailer that's making meaningful commitments to fighting food waste and feeding communities - especially at a time when so many in this country are struggling to feed themselves and their families.

 “Since September, Olio volunteers have already rescued nearly 40,000 meals - we can't wait to see the impact our partnership with FareShare and ASDA can achieve in the coming months and years.”

The partnership with FareShare and Olio will be across superstores and supermarkets, with a separate programme to be trialled for Asda’s Express convenience sites.

The changes will see Asda continuing the progress made to date in minimising waste, as the business continues to target a 20% reduction in waste by 2025. Asda aims to be a zero waste* business and currently sends zero waste to landfill.