// Tesco has teamed up with Jamie Oliver and food distribution charity FareShare
// The cookery school will teach 1000 community chefs how to make the most out of donated food
Tesco has teamed up with a national food distribution charity FareShare and Jamie Oliver to launch a cookery school for surplus food.
The UK’s largest grocer has further ramped up its efforts to tackle food waste in the UK, which sees around 100,000 tonnes of edible and readily available food wasted every year, despite retailers and manufacturers already redistributing 43,000 tonnes.
It has now launched the Tesco Community Cookery School, aiming to teach 1000 cooks recipes designed by Jamie Oliver and Tesco’s chefs to get the most out of donated surplus food.
There are reportedly already more than 1000 community cooks working with local authorities and charities like FareShare, but they struggle to create meals out of the unusual range and quantity of fresh ingredients that are donated.
FareShare has worked with Tesco since 2012 to donate unsold food, and gives out more then 300,000 meals worth of surplus food to over 7000 charities every week.
The charity redistributes food donated by Tesco and other retailers to community groups like homeless shelters, children’s breakfast clubs and domestic violence refuges.
“Surplus food donations can make a huge difference to people in need but can also create challenges for community cooks faced with unexpected, unusual or large volumes of a particular product,” Tesco chief executive Dave Lewis said.
“With Jamie’s help, we believe we can inspire, train and support charities to do even more with the donations they receive. Together, we can bring tasty and nutritious food to more people in communities right across the UK.”
Oliver added: “It’s fantastic to join the work that Tesco and FareShare are doing to reduce food waste. I’ve written these recipes to arm all those amazing community cooks with the tools to create something delicious and balanced for people who need it the most.”
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