Midcounties Co-op has announced another food waste initiative after teaming up with Too Good To Go, an app created to tackle the problem.
The co-op’s members and customers can use the free app, which lists nearby businesses with unsold food, to pick up a ‘Magic Bag’ of discounted food that may have otherwise gone to waste at all 227 of its food stores.
The ‘Magic Bags’ are available at Midcounties stores from £3.33 and contain at least £10’s worth or more of surplus food. Already more than 10,000 bags have been sold since the initiative launched this month, says the society.
Midcounties says the move is the next step in its mission to tackle food waste, and builds on the success of its current scheme which disposes of its food waste via anaerobic digestion.
Rupert Newman, chief food retail office at Midcounties, said: “Our commitment to help build a more sustainable world remains as strong as ever, and we are always looking for new solutions that help us to deliver this.
“We already have an excellent system in place to reduce our food waste and this partnership with Too Good To Go helps us to take that even further. As well as changing how we process food waste, we want to ensure as much as possible is consumed and – coupled with our sophisticated reduce-to-clear pricing model – this new initiative will help us to do just that.”
Paschalis Loucaides, UK managing director at Too Good To Go, said: “Tackling climate change has never been more vital. That’s why I’m so thrilled that Too Good To Go has partnered with all of The Midcounties’ 227 Your Co-op Food stores. Food waste accounts for 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions, so by reducing the volume of perfectly good food going to waste together we can take a big bite out of the problem. I’m excited to see the impact our partnership can have in the weeks, months and years ahead.”
