LONDON, U.K. (Reuters) — Tesco, Britain’s biggest retailer, has pledged to give leftover food from its stores to charity so that by the end of 2017 nothing is thrown away.
“We believe no food that could be eaten should be wasted — that’s why we have committed that no surplus food should go to waste from our stores,” said Dave Lewis, Tesco chief executive officer, who is trying to improve its image after an accounting scandal.
About 55,400 tonnes of food were thrown away at Tesco stores and distribution centres in Britain last year, of which around 30,000 tonnes could otherwise have been eaten, equivalent to around 70 million meals, the company said.
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Over the last six months, Tesco has tried the scheme in 14 stores, which has generated more than 22 tonnes of food, the equivalent of 50,000 meals.
The plan will now be rolled out across Britain, reaching all large Tesco stores by the end of this year and all stores by the end of 2017.
Tesco and partner FareShare want to sign up 5,000 charities and community groups to receive free surplus food through the plan.
Lewis, who joined in September 2014, is trying to turn Tesco around with a focus on lower prices and improved product availability and customer service.
He has also sold assets and cut costs, including thousands of jobs.
