Booker becomes first wholesaler to supply FareShare directly

Food equivalent to one million meals has been redistributed by Booker to people who need it most.

The cash and carry giant became the first wholesale organisation to redistribute food directly to food charity FareShare’s network of charities.

Through the FareShare Go programme, Booker sites are matched with charities and community groups in the local area that collect the items and turn that into food parcels or hot meals for the people they support.

The wholesaler also used OLIO’s Food Waste Heroes, which collects food directly from Booker and Makro branches before adding it to an app for people in the local area to collect.

“We are delighted that our teams across the whole Booker business have worked so hard with their local partners to reach this fantastic milestone,” said Booker’s Head of Sustainability, Catherine Marston.

“Not allowing any edible food go to waste is something that everyone at Booker is passionate about and we are proud to be the first wholesaler to work in such a collaborative way with FareShare and OLIO.

“Our food waste represents just 0.15% of total food handled which is market leading.  We are off to a great start with this partnership and I’m really looking forward to building on this success.”

Booker’s parent company, Tesco, has long been a supporter of FareShare and it’s a natural progression for the wholesale arm of the business to follow suit.

“Thank you to Booker for working with FareShare and OLIO to redistribute the equivalent of one million meals,” said FareShare Chief Executive Lindsay Boswell.

“This food is needed now more than ever and is making a huge difference to people in need across the country.

“We’ve received lots of positive feedback from our network of charities collecting food through Booker and the Colleagues in Booker branches are building strong relationships with their local community thanks to this programme.”

Booker FareShare food waste OLIO Tesco wholesaler