Morrisons to sell boxes of unsold food at cheaper price to reduce food waste

In a first, UK Supermarket chain Morrisons has decided to sell its unsold food past its 'best before' date for as low as £3.09 to reduce food waste. They will charge just £3.09 ($4) for a food item which is worth £10 ($12.80) that includes boxes of unsold fruit, veg, bakery, and deli items through the Too Good To Go app and pick them from their local Morrisons. The supermarket announced the decision on November 25 after a trial in few stores and has launched the option on its app nationwide on November 26 in 494 stores. Their motive is to provide food on a budget and reduce wastage.

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About 350,000 boxes of unsold food are expected to be distributed in 2020 with the initiative. The supermarket speculates that this, in turn, will reduce CO2 emissions by 882 tonnes. Gradually the chain aims to reduce operational food waste by 50 percent by 2030. 

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Way to help poor people eat well

Morrisons is using technology to reduce food waste and to help more people afford to eat well, said Jayne Wall, Market Street Director at Morrisons to the media. This Christmas, they aim there will be products which couldn't be sold before even after the festive period in their stocks, he added. Adding more substance to the initiative, Hayley Conick, UK Country Manager at Too Good To Go, said the media that every single day perfectly edible food goes to waste simply because it isn't sold, and this is having detrimental effects on our planet. She quoted that food waste contributes to 8 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. In order to battle this, the awareness of food waste should be spread and they are happy to get Morrisons partnership, Conick added. She concluded that Too Good To Go and Morrisons will together fight food waste and ensure that quality surplus produce doesn't end up in the bin.

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The app Too Good to Go has saved over 1 million meals to date, preventing 2.5 million kg of CO2 emissions. Users in the UK can download this app and browse local stores with food available. One has to pay the bill through the app and collect the food from the local store. 

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