Tesco Ireland has launched a new campaign, The Community Chill, which will provide funding for local charities to buy fridges and freezers, so they can receive more surplus food donations to help people in need.
The retailer began its own food surplus programme in 2014, and since then has donated over four million meals to more than 260 group across Ireland.
“At Tesco we believe that it’s simply not right that perfectly good surplus food should go to waste when there are people in our local communities who need it," said Andrew Yaxley, chief executive of Tesco Ireland.
"That’s why we’ve set an ambitious target that no food that is suitable for human consumption will go to waste in our stores in Ireland by 2020.”
“Working in partnership with over 260 charitable groups around the country and listening to their feedback we have identified that the charitable sector need a helping hand to increase their storage facilities so they can redistribute even more surplus food to those in need."
Food Waste
The new initiative is part of Tesco's global food waste commitments, which it updated last week. Tesco has been publishing its own food waste data for its UK operations for the past four years, but has now committed to doing the same for its businesses in Ireland, Poland, Slovakia, Czech Republic and Hungary.
The retailer says that this move builds on the company's 'commitment to transparency', which will also help to reduce waste further in the future.
Denis Naughten, Ireland's Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, said that Tesco is the first retailer in the country to publish its food waste data.
"I believe this is central to tackling the issue of food waste and it’s time for other businesses to follow suit,” he added.
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Sarah Harford. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
