Tesco is giving all its unsold food to charity

Some rend their garments – or roll their eyes – when a Tesco rolls into town. They complain about the strangulation of local businesses, or the death of community.

Perhaps, however, they should look on the bright side – or at least the charitable side: the supermarket chain is planning to donate all of the unsold food from its stores to charity.

It’s part of an initiative called The Community Food Connection, and will be pushed into 14 stores in cities including Manchester, Birmingham, Southampton and Portsmouth by the end of the week. By the end of the year, all the shops will be subscribed to the scheme.

Remember the time Victoria Beckham was in a Tesco advert?

It will work with more than 5,000 local charities to distribute surplus food. According to recent figures, more than 55,400 tonnes of Tesco food was tossed last year – which, according to the same figures, amounts to around 70 million meals.

“We know it’s an issue our customers really care about,” observed Tesco chief executive Dave Lewis said, “and wherever there’s surplus food at Tesco stores, we’re committed to donating it to local charities so we can help feed people in need.”