Sainsbury’s opens first-of-its kind walk-in freezer store
Sainsbury’s has announced “Sainsfreeze”, a new walk-in freezer concept store that will show customers how to freeze unsuspecting foods, saving surplus food going to waste and helping people save money.
Opening in London’s Boxpark, Shoreditch, between 27-28 September, the first of its kind walk-in freezer looks like a regular Sainsbury’s from the outside, but once inside customers will be greeted with frozen groceries that they would usually buy fresh.
Within the store, shelves will be stacked with fruit and veg, dairy, meat, fish and baked goods – but everything will be frozen, and it’s all being given away for free.
The items available have been selected off the back of research that revealed the items Brits most commonly throw away as they are about to go off, including milk, eggs, bread, and onions as well as other commonly wasted items foods, such as bananas and herbs.
Foods normally found on each aisle will be frozen in innovative ways to help save space and keep food for longer, thus reducing food waste.
Ruth Cranston, Director of Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability at Sainsbury’s said, “When people think about climate change, food waste often gets overlooked.
“Around a third of food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted and it contributes a whopping 8-10% of greenhouse gas emissions globally each year. That is why we are launching Sainsfreeze, to help customers try and combat food waste and learn handy hints and top tips along the way.
Innovative freezing not only allows us to save food we would otherwise have thrown away, but also to buy reduced food close to its use-by date, saving even more money on the weekly grocery bill.”
Catherine David, Director of Collaboration and Change at WRAP said, “This is an excellent and unique concept from Sainsbury’s. We need to look at our food storage and how we can ensure we waste as little as possible. Sainsfreeze will certainly help inform people about storing their food, and what unexpected items they’re able to freeze to guarantee less food is wasted.
“With food waste costing the average household with children around £730 a year, and particularly in the current climate as we’re all looking for ways to save money wherever we can, this is really going to help our food last longer. It would be great to see more of these rolled out across the country and reach more people”.
All surplus food from Sainsfreeze will be donated to Sainsbury’s food redistribution charity partner FareShare, ensuring that no food goes to waste.
