Coles Group’s Post

Thank you to Sarah Butler at the The Guardian for highlighting the problematic change to surplus food collections at Tesco through FareShare UK for small charities and VCS partners such as ours. Tesco now only releases it's surplus food at closing time making it impossible for the majority of us to redistribute the food as we all predominantly work daytime only. Whereas the other big supermarkets all continue - in London - to have daytime redistribution; i.e.; when volunteers are available to help with this work. Tesco's and Fareshare Go SHOULD have consulted their stakeholders which are the charities and VCS partners who collect and redistribute their food for free to those in need. Our views matter. To say that Olio will pick up the food if we cannot attend is not good enough. As the food is not redistributed to those most vulnerable and most of the waste ends up in the local authority waste stream subsidising the waste cost of Tesco when Food heroes from Olio are unable to redistribute everything that they pick-up when they go to do their collections. Here's the article: https://lnkd.in/eE82T8nA

Is it better to give food-based charities cash or products? Apparently, neither. Well don’t get us wrong, food-based charities will always accept food donations. Some of their biggest donations are from food rescue services. However, based on conversations with some of our food-based charity partners, they love the choice that comes with receiving store credit from supermarkets. When receiving store credit, they can fill the gaps that are often overlooked when it comes to receiving products, without the hassle of trying to fundraise cash. Store credit gives them the ability to access items they know the families in their care need – from cleaning products to sanitary care. They can do this without worrying about contributing to more landfill. When businesses do campaigns relating to giving products unfortunately a lot can go to waste. Too often charities can receive products they don’t need. This is one of the reasons we love working with Foodstuffs New Zealand ‘s Social Supermarkets. Their model is centred around bringing dignity back to the food donation experience, empowering their shoppers to have choice. To do this the charity itself needs choice, which the use of store credit provides. Of course, money absolutely has its place. Most of these charities need monetary donations to keep on going, however, the convenience and ease of store credit is the help they’re looking for as the demand for their services continues to grow. “The cost of living keeps outpacing salaries, and more and more families who work full-time now need help with food.” - Michelle, Fair Food NZ

"All major supermarkets and retailers that sell groceries, such as Kroger, Walmart and Costco, give large amounts of food to food banks and pantries. In 2022, retailers donated close to 2 billion pounds of food across the United States, which amounted to US$3.5 billion that year. The estimated value of donated food was a little less than $2 per pound in 2022. Retailers donate products that are typically packaged, palatable and safe for consumption, yet unsuitable for sale due to quality concerns, such as minor blemishes. Since these items can go a long way to feeding hungry people, donations represent one of the best uses of leftover or surplus food. Donations are also technically acts of charity, and the companies responsible for them get tax breaks. This means that donations boost profits by lowering costs. There's a second effect of donations on a store's bottom line: They improve the quality of food on the store's shelves and increase revenue from food sales." #supermarkets #grocerystores #reducedfoodwaste #boostprofits #loweringcosts

The Felix Project found in a recent survey that almost nine in 10 community organisations they support are concerned about increasing demand this year in 2024. The CEO of the charity Charlotte Hill OBE FRSA CCMI said, “These results really demonstrate the immense amount of pressure being felt by so many of those charities working on the frontline to feed people facing food insecurity and hunger. It’s clear, too, that many people in London are struggling with the cost-of-living crisis. 170,000 working people in London had to turn to a food support service for the first-time last year to ensure they could feed their children. Each week we send food to over 1,000 organisations and all of them want more food. To have so many respond to our survey and say they worried about an increase in demand shows how much The Felix Project has to do this year.” #costoflivingcrisis #thefelixproject #charity

Interesting to read in the Propel morning briefing today that Greggs plans to expand its outlet store to 50 over the coming year. This has always seemed such a great way to use unsold product, selling them in the outlet store the next day for a large discount. It would be great to see other brands following suit alongside other great initiatives such as Too Good To Go. Below is an extract from the article about how much waste they managed to divert! In 2023, we diverted more than 2,600 tonnes of surplus food to our Outlet network — an increase of 44% from 2022. That’s more than 2.6 million sandwiches, 2.2 million savoury snacks, and 2.6 million sweet treats saved from the bin. For items left on the shelves, we donate them to our network of 956 local charities or Too Good To Go. Any surplus food not redistributed is sent to an anaerobic digestor. None of our surplus food goes to landfill.” #reducingfoodwaste #greggsoutlet #reduce #reuse

The Lineage Foundation for Good’s Customer Product Donation program mobilizes Lineage’s customers, team members, leaders and the wider community in an effort to rescue safe, quality food from going to waste and turning it into a resource for people in need. Lineage Lineage Foundation for Good #customerproductdonationprogram #foodsecurity #usa #donation #reducingfoodwaste #michigan #supplychain #logistics #supplychainmanagement

Here’s how to donate to a food bank near you this winter Times are tough right now amid the cost of living crisis. If you’re thinking about giving a little support to those less fortunate, here’s what you need to know

"More than one-third of food charities in Canada turned people away last year because of a lack of supplies, according to a report released Tuesday that also forecasts an 18 per cent increase in demand across the country in 2024. In Second Harvest’s second annual study 'Hungry for Change,' the non-profit said that it expects demand for food charities to grow even more in Toronto — as much as 30 per cent, marking the second largest expected increase among the country's major urban centres. Second Harvest surveyed more than 1,400 non-profit food organizations last year — including food banks, shelters, schools and various other charities or social services across Canada — to forecast upcoming demand in the charitable food sector. 'Canadians can't keep up with inflation. Housing is unaffordable,' said Lori Nikkel, CEO of Second Harvest. 'When people are trying to figure out how to manage their necessities, food is always a negotiable cost.' The 2024 Food Price Report, jointly researched by several Canadian universities, forecasts that food prices will increase by as much as 4.5 per cent this year. That represents an additional $701.79 for a family of four compared to last year, according to the Second Harvest report. In 2023, food prices rose by 5.9 per cent, totalling more than 10 per cent in two years. The study found the projected increase in demand means more than one million Canadians will access food charities for the first time in 2024. That translates to at least 100,000 Torontonians using food charities for the first time this year, Nikkel said. 'That's an extremely conservative estimate based on the 539 non-profits Second Harvest supports in Toronto,' she added. 'Accounting for the entire charitable network in the city, it’s likely this number will be much higher.' Nikkel said there's 'more than enough food' for Canadians, but the issue is whether they can afford it. That's why addressing poverty first is key, she said, adding that potential solutions include reinstating the federal Surplus Food Rescue Program, expanding eligibility for the GST Grocery Rebate, increasing minimum wage and lowering taxes for low-income households... Toronto resident Alex Garcia, 40, said he used to donate to local food charities, but Sunday he had to access a food bank for the first time. 'Inflation is destroying us,' said Garcia ...'Prices just keep going up. We can't afford proper meals' ... While Second Harvest's report found that 36 per cent of food charities across the country have a wait-list of people who cannot access their support, in Toronto that number increased to 50 per cent out of the 229 food charities that responded, Nikkel noted ..." #SDoH #foodinsecurity #incomegap #foodbanks #hunger #inflation #affordabilitycrisis #systemicpoverty #classdivide #onpoli #nspoli #cdnpoli #globalpoli #globalimpact

The following guidelines can help you decide what to donate to a food drive or food pantry: 1. Consider a cash donation. Cash is useful to food banks and food pantries as they can generally buy quantities of food for less. They can also buy the items most needed by their clients. 2. It is important that donated food be safe and nutritious as possible rather than just what is in the back of your cupboard. In other words, don’t just “clean out your pantry”... donate food that meets their specific guidelines. 3. Purchase food specifically for the food drive using the organization's list, or think about what foods other families like yours might like to eat. Also keep in mind that food pantry and food bank recipients range in age from infants to elderly residents. 4. Donate retail-sized food containers. In other words, the size of items you’d pick up at your local grocery store for yourself or family. (not trial size or warehouse store size) 5. Donate food that is in its original package with the label intact — unopened and not damaged. 6. Do not donate food that is past its “best by,” “use by,” or “sell by” date. Although some food is still safe to consume after these dates it is best practice not to donate them. 7. If canned food has a sharp dent, a dent deep enough to rest a finger in, severe rust pits, swollen or bulging ends or any evidence of leaking, the food is unsafe to eat and should be discarded and not donated. Canned vegetables and meats with any size dent should be thrown away. 8. Because of the risk of botulism in improperly home-canned food and the large variation in the level of safety of the methods used by home canners, food banks and food pantries do not accept any home-canned goods. If you have any questions about this or would like to organize a food drive for Agape Center Lynchburg, please feel free to reach out to us and ask: [email protected] #fooddrive #foodpantry #donate #community #agapelyh #agapecenterlynchburg

The Felix Project launches Restaurants Feed London campaign to help fight the city’s hunger crisis: The campaign calls on London restaurants to participate and add optional donations to customers’ bills to help those most in need. The Felix Project, London’s largest food rescue charity, has today launched its Restaurants Feed London campaign, which is calling on restaurants across the capital to add an optional £1 donation onto customers’ bills to help distribute quality food to Londoners most in need. 1.2 million adults in London live in food insecurity, and with the cost-of-living in the city rising by 24% over the past three years, around 100,000 families have less than £3 a day to spend on food. The problem is particularly acute in the capital where 40% of children have experienced food insecurity in the last month, compared to a national average of 29%. Starting on World Hunger Day on 28th May and running for 9 weeks, participating restaurants will include an optional £1 donation on bills to help fund the distribution of high-quality, nutritious food to over 1,000 community organisations and 170 schools. Every £100 collected will provide 290 meals for Londoners. This year’s fundraising will build on the success of last year’s inaugural campaign which provided 91,000 meals across the city. https://lnkd.in/eKjCg7uW #news #magazine #hospitalityindustry #eat #drink #sleep #b2bmarketing #newsletter #emailmarketing #bannerads