Booker, the UK’s leading food & drink wholesaler, has redistributed enough food to provide the equivalent of five million meals thanks to a partnership with FareShare and OLIO.
“We are constantly looking at ways to ensure no edible food goes to waste whether that is through being more efficient or collaborating with our supply partners and we are really pleased that we have been able to play our part in local communities across the UK.”
Catherine Marston, Head of Sustainability at Booker
To help tackle the UK’s escalating food waste problem and the current cost of living crisis, food sharing app OLIO and charity FareShare are working together on the 200 Million Meals initiative with the aim of getting food businesses to redistribute good to eat surplus food instead of letting it go to waste.
Booker currently redistributes food via its branches across the UK directly to FareShare’s network of charities and OLIO’s Food Waste Heroes.
Through the FareShare Go programme, Booker sites are matched with charities and community groups in the local area that collect the items and turn that into food parcels or hot meals for the people they support.
Lindsay Boswell, chief executive at FareShare, said: “With living costs continuing to rise, there are millions of people struggling to make ends meet across the UK. That’s why we’re incredibly grateful to Booker and OLIO for their commitment to reducing the needless waste of good food and helping us to support people facing food insecurity.”
OLIO’s Food Waste Heroes collect food directly from Booker, which will then be added to its app for people in the local area to collect.
Tessa Clarke, OLIO’s CEO and co-founder said: “Five million meals is a phenomenal achievement for Booker and we are delighted to have played a part in hitting this incredible milestone. Now, more than ever, amid a cost of living crisis, we all need to be playing our part in ensuring perfectly edible food is saved rather than wasted. Thanks to partnerships like this, we are able to make a real, tangible impact to the environment and local communities.”
Catherine Marston, Head of Sustainability at Booker said: “Eliminating food waste is something that is very close to our hearts here at Booker. I am really proud of this achievement and would like to thank each of our colleagues, as well as our partners at Fareshare and OLIO, who have all made this happen. We are constantly looking at ways to ensure no edible food goes to waste whether that is through being more efficient or collaborating with our supply partners and we are really pleased that we have been able to play our part in local communities across the UK.”
