Iceland Foods has redistributed over 3.5 million meals to local communities since January 2022, having surpassed its target of donating three million meals in an effort to tackle food waste in the UK.
With the financial year ending on March, the frozen food retailer says it is on track to hit four million before the end of the month.
In partnership with food sharing app Olio, Iceland has also reached the milestone of redistributing 1 million meals through the platform.
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In addition to their partnership with Olio, surplus food is offered free of charge to store colleagues, converted into animal feed, or used to produce electricity and compost through anaerobic digestion.
In the two weeks over Christmas, Iceland and Olio collaborated to support local communities, as they redistributed over 100 tonnes worth of food – equating to 263,524 meals.
Since joining forces, both have donated 594,377 kg worth of edible food, feeding 50,063 families. In total, Iceland has saved up to 1,518 tonnes worth of food so far – weighing the equivalent to seven blue whales or 125 double decker buses.
“As part of Iceland’s commitment to Doing it Right, we are dedicated to doing our part to fight food waste,” executive chairman of Iceland Foods, Richard Walker said.
He added: “We are thankful to be able to work with partners such as Olio to support local communities with food that otherwise would have gone to waste.
“We have committed to reducing food and drink waste by 50% by 2030, and it is great to see we are on track to achieve our goals, as taking action against food waste remains one of our top priorities,” Walker commented.
Co-founder and CEO of Olio, Tessa Clarke said: “We couldn’t be prouder to be working alongside Iceland’s 950+ stores to fight food waste and feed communities across the UK – especially while the rising cost of living means so many are going hungry.
“It’s thanks to partners like Iceland that we’re able to take meaningful action on food waste on such a large scale, and we’re really grateful for their support.
She added: “We’d love to see more businesses following Iceland’s example and committing to zero edible food waste across their operations.”
It comes as Iceland has confirmed it will be permanently closing at least six of its stores across the UK in the coming days and weeks.
