Tesco's chief executive has said that he does not feel 'comfortable' throwing out thousands of tons of food waste each year when it could go to helping people in need. New Statistics published by Tesco revealed that the company threw away 55,400 tonnes of food in last year - around 30,000 tonnes of which was perfectly edible.
The food most commonly thrown away was from the bakery, followed by fresh fruit and vegetables and convenience items like pre-packaged sandwiches and salads. Beneficiaries of this scheme will include: women's refuges, homeless hostels and breakfast clubs for disadvantaged children.
Often food in shops must be removed from shelves once it has passed its self by date, despite still being perfectly good for human consumption. Tesco will be the first supermarket in Britain to tackle this problem - in a the hope that many homeless or starving families will benefit. The scheme of giving unsold food to charities is already active in Ireland but will now be piloted in ten Tesco stores in the UK.
