Waitrose is celebrating its donation of over 25 million meals to the surplus food charity FareShare, as it aims to tackle food poverty and food waste.

The upmarket grocer announced that it hit the milestone in February, by delivering surplus food from over 300 stores and distribution centres to people in need via the charity.

Waitrose said the past year has marked its best yet for surplus redistribution, driven by increased donations from stores and building upon its long-term partnership with FareShare.

Since it launched its partnership with FareShare in 2017, Waitrose has donated 25,439,334 meals. In 2024 alone, 6,097,210 meals were donated, representing 2,561 tonnes of surplus food and saving 5,140 tonnes of CO2 while supporting 3,971 charities.

“Not only are we incredibly proud that our partnership with FareShare has helped drive down food waste, but we’re pleased to be able to support those in our communities who need help and need access to nutritious food,” said John Lewis Partnership director of ethics and sustainability Marija Rompani, adding: “25 million meals is a huge milestone and we can’t wait to see it go further.”

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FareShare director of food Simon Millard added: “We’re incredibly grateful for our partnership with Waitrose. Their support has enabled us to provide 25 million meals worth of good-to-eat surplus food to our network of 8,000 charities across the UK.

“These charities, from afterschool and breakfast clubs to hospices and homelessness shelters, transform meals into support, strengthening communities and changing lives across the UK. Thank you to everyone at Waitrose for reaching this milestone.”

The news comes as the retailer commits to halving food waste in its operations and supply chains by 2030, while supporting its customers to do the same at home.

Elsewhere, the supermarket chain is helping tackle food poverty in the UK, by providing surplus pasta to FareShare as part of the Coronation Food Project. Working with its own-brand pasta supplier, Daybreak, Waitrose has pledged to donate 130 tonnes of surplus pasta per year, the equivalent of 350,000 meals, to FareShare.