Central England Co-op has stopped more than 100,000 meals from going to waste thanks to its partnership with Too Good To Go.
The amount saved equates to 250,000 kg of CO2 emissions, the equivalent of CO2 emitted from 49 flights around the world, according to the businesses.
The milestone comes as the duo recently marked their first anniversary, having launched a trial in early 2021. The scheme operates across Central England’s entire 260-strong estate, in tandem with its other partnership with FareShare Midlands, giving it an extra route in reducing food waste and helping in its aim to be carbon neutral by 2030, the society said.
“Through our partnership with FareShare Midlands we already had a great process in place for the distribution of ‘best before’ products that had reached the end of their shelf life but could still be utilised by the projects FareShare supports across our communities,” said Central England Co-op head of trading operations Claire Koziol.
“That, however, still left products approaching their sell-by date that ultimately would have to go in the bin if not sold in time. That is where Too Good To Go has really helped.
“These products are still high-quality items that customers want, and it is a great solution if people are able to utilise them the same day or can freeze them to use them at a later date.
“A big benefit from our point of view is that we are reducing food waste even further and it’s fantastic that after one year of the partnership with Too Good To Go we’ve now hit the milestone of 100,000 meals saved. It is making a major difference in our aim to create a sustainable society for all.”
Too Good To Go UK&I MD Sophie Trueman said: “I’m thrilled to have reached this incredible milestone with Central England Co-op. Central England’s Co-op’s ongoing commitment to fighting food waste has made them the perfect partner for us, and it’s amazing to see the significant impact we are driving together.
“At Too Good To Go, we want to make it simple and easy to access quality food for a more affordable price, and to do so in way that does right by our planet too. There are huge benefits to tackling food waste, both for our environment and for individuals’ spending, and I can’t wait to see our partnership with CEC continue to flourish as we rescue even more good food from going to waste.”
The partnership allows Central England Co-op customers and members to pick up a bag of discounted food, or ‘magic bags’, at the end of the day to help prevent food going to waste. They search for their local store with unsold food and purchase the magic bag – priced at £4 but containing at least £12 worth of food – before collecting at the allotted time.
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