Major chain set to give unsold food to charities

The city is part of a major scheme the grocery giant hopes will mean no food will be thrown away by next year.

And in a separate move, wonky vegetables will be sold at discount prices.

The retailer’s latest figures show 55,400 tonnes of food were thrown away at its stores and distribution centres in the UK last year, of which around 30,000 tonnes could otherwise have been eaten – equivalent to around 70 million meals.

The plan is a nationwide roll-out of a 14-store pilot called the Community Food Connection, which over the past six months has generated more than 22 tonnes of food, the equivalent of 50,000 meals.

It operates by using a digital open platform called FareShare FoodCloud that allows store staff and charities to liaise to distribute the food.

Tesco and FareShare are appealing for 5,000 charities and community groups to join up and receive the food.