Tesco to give free food away to staff in move to eliminate waste | Progresiv
Tesco employees will be able to receive free food which is approaching its expiry date as the retailer seeks to prevent further food from going to waste. 
The grocer said it will introduce ‘colleague shops’ in all of its UK stores, with dedicated storage areas and fridges set up in back-of-store colleague rooms to keep food on its best before date.
Tesco said the initiative is part of its drive to ensure that no food safe for human consumption will go to waste in its UK retail operations by the end of 2018.
The supermarket currently has a policy of reducing the price of products as they approach their expiry dates to minimize surplus.
If food cannot be sold, it is offered to charities and community food groups. However, Tesco said that charities don’t always need everything offered to them, so any food left over will now be made available to employees.
Tesco head of food waste reduction Mark Little said: “We want to do everything we can to make sure perfectly good food doesn’t go to waste. Our colleague shops are a win-win, providing an additional step to support our efforts to tackle food waste in our own operations, and offer colleagues an extra little help at the end of their shift.”
The move follows a scheme announced last year by rival Co-op, which said it will start selling food products beyond its best before dates. The policy does not include any products with a use by date, including meat, fish and dairy.
Last October, the EU and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the UN signed a letter of intent to halve per capita food waste by 2030, a goal established under the Sustainable Development Goals global agenda.
Tesco colleague shops will be introduced stores by the end of February. The surplus food will initially be made available for 1 pence before becoming free of charge in a few months’ time. (www.foodbev.com)
