A.F. Blakemore Trials Food Waste Fighting App

January 24, 2020

A.F. Blakemore is the latest convenience store retailer to trial the food waste fighting app Too Good to Go.

The company has registered 15 of its Blakemore Retail SPAR convenience stores based in Lincolnshire on the Too Good to Go food waste fighting app, which enables people to purchase short-dated food for a reduced price.

The app, which was launched in the UK in June 2016, was set up to help tackle the 10 million tonnes of food wasted each year by saving the fresh and short-dated food often thrown away by restaurants and retailers.

The SPAR stores involved in the trial will make up ‘Magic Bags’ of surplus fresh food and groceries on the day of expiry, which Too Good to Go’s 2.5 million users in the UK will be able to find and purchase for £3.09.

Customers will then be allocated a time to come and collect their ‘Magic Bag’ of goodies, reducing the daily food waste of stores and ensuring that the perfectly edible food is enjoyed.

Store Operations Director Chris Bacon commented: “Blakemore Retail is dedicated to reducing its food waste, and what better way to do this than with an app that will also allow our customers to get some fantastic deals.”

Too Good to Go UK Country Manager Hayley Conick added: “We are delighted that 15 of Blakemore Retail’s SPAR stores have joined our growing community of partners in the UK, with the prospect of more to follow.

“This partnership bolsters our fight against food waste in the UK, enabling us to make an increasing dent in the £13 billion of perfectly edible produce that goes to waste each year. These stores operate at the heart of communities, so it is through relationships such as these that we can fight food waste together at a local level.”

The pilot of the app began on 20th January, with plans to register more stores in the future if successful.

Reducing waste is one of the key areas that A.F. Blakemore's new Sustainability programme will focus on. The company is looking at ways to reduce its food and plastic waste, energy usage and carbon footprint as well as develop sustainable solutions for its trade partners. 
 

Locating the nearest SPAR Magic Bag on the Too Good to Go app
 

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