Lidl GB and Neighbourly have expanded their partnership with food-sharing app, Olio, giving more shoppers the chance to collect surplus food from Lidl stores for free at the end of the day via the Olio app.
The initiative is now available at around 200 Lidl stores, from Newcastle to Shepherds Bush in London, with plans to roll it out nationwide by the end of the year.
When local charities can’t make late-evening collections, Olio’s volunteer ‘Food Waste Heroes’ step in to pick up surplus fresh produce, meat, and bakery items before doors close. Instead of going to waste, that food goes straight to local families, shelters, and community groups.
The rollout builds on a successful trial of evening collections in 20 stores which has already prevented around 1,200kg of food waste per week. Once live nationally, the initiative is expected to redistribute 5,000 tonnes of surplus food each year, the equivalent of nearly 11.9 million meals.
The scheme works by recruiting additional volunteers – known as Food Waste Heroes – who are able to step in when charities aren’t able to make an evening collection. Fresh items like chilled meat, fish, poultry, and the discounter’s popular bakery treats which can’t be held overnight can now be collected by dedicated Olio volunteers, ensuring they go straight to local people.
Buzzee Beez Pre-school Food Scheme collects from the Lidl store in Harlow, Essex. Kelly Stallwood, Deputy manager from the pre-school said: “These new evening collections of chilled and bakery items have been so beneficial to the families we support in the pre-school. Whether they have new babies arriving, are struggling with the rising cost of living, or simply want to support reducing food waste, the reaction has been fantastic. In the pre-school we support over 50 families…so this surplus food really helps make a difference”.
Food Waste Heroes have already seen an overwhelming positive response in their local communities. Take Tillmann from York who in a single collection picked up around 25kg of strawberries, 12kg of bananas, and another seven crates of foodstuff completely free to redistribute. Meanwhile Krys in Walthamstow is able to support many corners of the community with their collections benefitting local mosque women and children’s centres to local church bible study groups, the YMCA and the Whipps Cross Ambulance service.
Georgina Hall, director of corporate affairs at Lidl GB, said: “Real change requires a community effort, and we are incredibly grateful to our store teams, charity partners and the dedicated Food Waste Heroes who are rescuing good quality food for those who need it most. With our sights set on a nationwide rollout by the end of this year, this expanding partnership will soon empower communities to rescue up to nearly 12 million meals every single year. This collaboration will make a huge impact on the lives of the most vulnerable in our communities everywhere.”
The new initiative significantly scales up the discounters’ existing efforts with social impact platform Neighbourly by integrating Olio’s network of Food Waste Heroes into its surplus food network – combining the strengths of two leading players in food redistribution for the first time. Since 2016, Lidl GB has donated 50 million meals through its Feed it Back scheme with Neighbourly, linking every nationwide store to local good causes.
To become a local Food Waste Hero sign up via the Olio app. Under the programme’s unique model, volunteers collect the surplus food entirely for free. The volunteers are permitted to keep a maximum of 10% of the rescued items for their own households, seamlessly distributing the rest to neighbours in their community via the Olio app.
