Sainsbury’s donates 10 million meals with Neighbourly
Sainsbury’s has reached a significant meal donation milestone with food re-distribution partner Neighbourly, saving 4,500 tonnes of food going to waste.
The move brings Sainsbury’s one step closer in its pledge to reduce food waste across its value chain by 50% by 2030.
The partnership is just one way Sainsbury’s supports communities with access to food, with its newly launched Nourish the Nation programme recently donating £3 million to help fight food poverty
Sainsbury’s has worked with Neighbourly since 2021 to connect all its stores with local charity partners, helping to manage surplus food donations.
Through the partnership, both ambient and fresh groceries can be donated to a store’s connected charity, helping Sainsbury’s to redistribute food to those facing food poverty in local communities.
The partnership has prevented 4,500 tonnes of food from going to waste, a move which has reduced carbon emissions by over 16,000 tonnes. Meanwhile, through using the Neighbourly platform, Sainsbury’s has donated food to over 2,500 good causes across the UK, that help four million people weekly.
In the week leading up to Christmas alone, over 335,000 meals were provided to local charities that support over 1,227,000 people weekly across the UK, helping to support communities over the festive period.
Ruth Cranston, Sainsbury’s Director of Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability, said: “We know our partnership is more important than ever with food banks facing more demand than before.
“We’re incredibly proud of this partnership and have worked hard in engaging our stores and they have done a great job in driving this forward. We look forward to continuing our work with Neighbourly.”
Steve Butterworth, CEO of Neighbourly, said: “Sainsbury’s is genuinely committed to local action and we’re pleased to be accelerating the scheme to help forge strong community collaboration between their stores and charity partners whilst combatting the environmental impact of wasted food.
“The current cost-of-living crisis means more families than ever are relying on their local community charities for food and other services, and this scheme is making a huge difference to thousands of local groups and the people they support.”
