Asda has donated the equivalent of more than 800,000 meals since the beginning of March to charities and community groups supporting people affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
In partnership with food charity FareShare, the grocer has been donating food directly to charities and community groups via its back-of-store food donation scheme.
The scheme has so far provided more than three million meals from 525 stores since it began in August 2018.
“The Covid-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on charities and the people who rely on them,” Asda Zero Waste senior manager Karen Todd said.
“We are delighted to be able to help in any way we can and will continue to look at ways we can support those in our local communities.”
Food such as fruit, vegetables and eggs, dented tins and bread products which can no longer to be sold in store, but are still edible, are donated.
The products are then collected by charities and distributed, helping vulnerable people and saving food waste.
“We’re incredibly thankful to Asda for their continued efforts in redistributing surplus food from stores because this is needed by people now more than ever,” FareShare chief executive Lindsay Boswell said.
“The coronavirus pandemic has put a strain on a lot of charities and community organisations, with increased demand as more families face financial hardship.
“FareShare Go is a real game changer for many small charities, being able to source good to eat, free surplus food from retailers to help feed the many thousands of vulnerable people.”
All large Asda stores are now donating food via FareShare Go and the scheme continues to roll out in smaller supermarkets to support more organisations throughout the current pandemic.
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