Asda to donate surplus food stock to FareShare
Asda is to donate all of it surplus food stock from its supply chain to charity through a partnership with the food redistribution charity FareShare.
The supermarket said the partnership will result in an extra 1,500 tonnes of food going to UK charities every year and increase the amount of food redistributed by FareShare by 41%.
Asda said its surplus food comes from ‘overs’ when a supplier sometimes sends more food than expected. Currently, when food becomes surplus it is sent back to the supplier where it can quickly add up to thousands of cases and often go to waste. Instead of sending the stock back, Asda is now going to redistribute the food directly to FareShare.
Barry Williams, Asda chief merchandising officer for food, said: “Food poverty is a very real problem and it’s getting worse, not better. Through our new supply chain model and work with FareShare, I’m proud that we’re able to help feed millions of families around the UK who would otherwise go hungry.”
Lindsay Boswell, FareShare chief executive, added: “We know that there are more people turning to charities for food than at any other time in FareShare’s history. This initiative will mean we can provide more food to more charities and will enable us to feed even more people at a time of real need.”
