Tesco Ireland has announced that it plans to donate surplus food to local groups across the country this Christmas Eve.
Working with start-up company FoodCloud, the retailer says that it is trying to match each of its 149 stores with groups of volunteers who can use or distribute the goods, and ensure that no food goes to waste.
All Tesco stores will close at 7pm on Christmas Eve and will re-open on St Stephen's Day at 10am, and are likely to have surplus food that can be redistributed to support local communities over the Christmas period, according to the retailer.
"Last year we donated really good quality products on Christmas Eve including Christmas Turkeys, fresh fruit and vegetables that we know made a positive difference to those in need," said Christine Heffernan, director of corporate affairs at Tesco Ireland.
"This year we’re committed to ensuring that all of our surplus food will be available for collection on Christmas Eve and our 260 local good causes are welcome to collect from their local Tesco store."
Food Waste
This donation plan is part of Tesco's 'No Time For Waste' initiative, which aims to minimise food waste and increase surplus food donations at its stores across the country.
The retailer says that it donates, on average, the equivalent of over 40,000 meals every week.
Recently, it launched a new campaign, 'The Community Chill', which provides funding for local charities to buy fridges and freezers, so they can receive more surplus food donations to help people in need.
Tesco Ireland has committed that no food suitable for human consumption will go to waste in its stores by 2020, and in September, it became the first retailer in the country to publish its food waste data.
© 2017 - Checkout Magazine by Sarah Harford
