Southern Co-op has announced that 11 stores have joined a trial selling out-of-date products for 20p in a bid to reduce food waste.
Under the “Reducing our Footprint” scheme, stores across the South West will sell fresh food two days after their “best before” date, and other foods up to a week afterwards.
The initiative will run for 12 weeks at Co-ops in: Bath’s Widcombe Hill, Blandford’s Salisbury Road, Bradford On Avon’s Winsley Road, Frome’s Nunney Road, Lambourn’s High Street, Mere’s The Square, Old Sarum’s Crosier Close, Shaftesbury’s Beaufoy Close, Shrewton’s High Street, Sturminster’s Station Road, and Yeovil’s Mudford Road.
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“People are more aware than ever of the impact of unnecessary food waste,” Southern Co-op’s director of sustainability and communications Gemma Lacey said.
“We want to go one step further and prove that a large number of products are still tasty and good enough to eat past their “best before” date.
“We hope this will also raise awareness that there are products in the back of people’s cupboards which don’t need to be thrown away.”
“Reducing our Footprint” was first trialled in two stores in Hampshire, where most of the products were sold within a day of being reduced.
The scheme is the latest of Southern Co-op’s attempts to halve its greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.
