Greggs is tackling food waste and poverty with the opening of its 30th store in London.
The new Cundy Road store in Newham has taken the British bakery chain’s total number of outlet shops in the city to 30, as it looks ahead to reaching a target of 50 by 2025.
Originally set up in 1972 to support socially deprived areas and to redistribute unsold food items, the shops sell baked goods often at reduced prices.
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A share of the profits from each store is donated to The Greggs Foundation where funds are passed to local community organisations and charities.
In 2021, the bakery raised approximately £370,000 for charity through all its UK shops.
Greggs’ bakeries are currently mainly situated in the north and midlands, including in Newcastle, Birmingham and Glasgow.
The retailer is also on the Too Good To Go scheme, which aims to combat food waste and make sustainable food options more accessible at a lower cost.
“As a leading food on the go retailer in the UK, it’s important that we do our bit to put an end to food waste and help to tackle poverty, hunger and deprivation across all the communities we operate in,” chief executive at Greggs, Roisin Currie said.
She added: “We have three channels for giving good food a second chance – we donate it to charities who can make use of it; we offer it to our customers at a discount via the Too Good To Go app; and we sell it at a discount through our outlet shops.”
Currie also commented that the expansion of the outlet shop estate is a core part of the “Greggs Pledge” and a “testament to the commitment we make every day in supporting our customers’ health, our communities,” that they are on track to deliver against its 2025 targets.
The news comes as This, the UK’s fastest-growing plant-based meat brand, partners with Greggs to expand its exclusive range of new vegan products across all 2,200 of its shops in the UK.
