M&S has announced it is donating 95,000 ambient products directly to charity, worth £50,000 to provide further support for those in need in the run up to Christmas.
This comes as the grocer announced it has hit a milestone of 50 million meals being donated to local charities across the UK, in partnership with Neighbourly.
Over 2,700 charities, ranging from after school clubs to food banks, have benefitted from the donations of surplus food from the grocer’s stores.
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“Across M&S, we’re extremely proud to have donated 50 million meals to fantastic causes across the UK,” M&S Food technical director Andrew Clappen said.
“M&S colleagues are going above and beyond to make sure any surplus edible food reaches those who need it most. Over the past seven years, our stores have developed long lasting relationships with charities at the heart of their community. As we approach Christmas, the hard work will continue to make sure no M&S Food goes to waste.”
M&S has also updated its food redistribution policies for suppliers to minimise waste.
Across stores, colleagues are also able to take home any edible surplus waste that is not able to reach charities or local groups, as the retailer moves closer to target for 100% of edible surplus to be redistributed by 2025.
Clappen added: “Redistributing edible surplus food is just one part of the puzzle though. We’re determined to tackle food waste – in-store, at source and across customer households. We’ve made progress by removing best before dates across fruit and vegetables, improving our forecasting system and working with suppliers – but there’s still more to do.”
The 95,000 product donation builds on its existing £1 million donation to help 1,000 local community groups, supported by Neighbourly, as part of its Christmas ‘Gifts That Give’ Clothing and Home campaign.
