Retailer looks to distribute food

Since 2015, M&S and Neighbourly, its food redistribution partner, have worked together to donate surplus food to local charities and community groups.

And now the two have developed a new app which automatically notifies charities of anything unsold at the end of the day that can be collected from their local store.

Rona Hulbert, Regional Manager at M&S North Yorkshire, said: “We’re extremely proud of our food redistribution programme with Neighbourly that helps provide meals for people in our local communities.

“Across our region there are lots of successful partnerships but with the launch of the app we’re able and eager to do more.

“We are looking for charities to come forward to partner with our stores to help us redistribute the surplus and support our work to reduce the environmental impact of food surplus.”

Across Wetherby, 17,500 meals have been donated to local charities and community groups, such as Helping Hands UK, Martin House Children’s Hospice and Resurrected Bites since the scheme started.

By providing charities with updates in real-time, the new app enables them to collect even more meals to feed the people they support.

With the new system in place, M&S stores across Wetherby are looking for more charity partners in an effort to ensure all surplus food reaches the plates of those who need it most.

With 9.5 million tonnes of food being wasted every year in homes and businesses across the UK, the programme is a key part of M&S’s Plan A initiative and aims to help reduce the environmental impact of food waste.

Last month M&S further pledged to cut its carbon footprint by a third by 2025, as part of its commitment to become a net zero Scope 3 business across its entire supply chain and products by 2040.

Charity and community groups based in the region who would like to get involved in the food surplus programme or other charity initiatives are encouraged to email their interest and to find out more to: [email protected]