Microsoft Teams Up With Co-op Supermarket In The Fight Against Food Waste

Microsoft has officially partnered the Co-op supermarket for a new digital platform aimed at aiding grocery stores, restaurants, and cafes in redistributing leftover food “when and where it is needed,” reducing the amount of surplus tossed into the bin.

Food waste is a serious issue plaguing our planet, with the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) reporting that over 1.1 million tonnes of food (worth £4 billion / US$4.9 billion) goes to waste each year in the UK.

Worse still, only 80,000 tonnes of edible surplus is shared with charities and community groups, with an extra 200,000 tonnes landing up in the landfill instead of feeding those who may need it most.

The nonprofit platform, known as Caboodle, hopes to change this by functioning as a marketplace connecting food retailers and businesses within the hospitality sector with community outreach groups.

This will enable businesses to offload extra food more easily, such as by using daily live notifications to alert participating charities when food is available, and offering booking and scheduling for pickup. 

According to a press release, the platform is currently being trialed at 100 Co-op stores in Northern Ireland, Milton Keynes, and London, with plans to expand it across 2,500 more stores next month.

“The results we’re seeing so far are incredible. We’ll be rolling it out across our entire estate next month and hope that all other retailers and businesses within hospitality will see the benefit too. ” said Shirine Khoury-Haq, Interim CEO of Co-op.

“The more organizations use Caboodle, the simpler and more effective it will be for volunteers and community groups to gain access to food,” she added.

[via Food Matters Live and Co-op, cover image via Co-op]