M&S offers surplus food to Omagh community groups

M&S is looking for charities and community groups across Omagh to join its food redistribution scheme.

Since 2015, M&S and Neighbourly, its food redistribution partner, have worked together to donate surplus food to local charities and community groups. M&S and Neighbourly developed a new app for colleagues to revolutionise how they donate surplus food which automatically notifies charity partners of anything unsold at the end of the day that can be collected from their local store.

The app is used by all 585 M&S stores which has enabled many of them to more than double their food redistribution rates.

Across Omagh, 21,900 meals have been donated to local charities and community groups, such as LTC – REACH Food Bank and Slate (Shelter NI) since the scheme began – with more than 22.5 million meals donated across the UK since March 1 2020 alone.

By providing charities with updates in real-time, the new app enables them to collect even more meals to feed the people they support. With the new system in place, the M&S store in Omagh are looking for more charity partners in an effort to ensure all surplus food reaches the plates of those who need it most.

With 9.5 million tonnes of food being wasted every year in homes and businesses across the UK, the programme is a key part of M&S’s Plan A initiative and aims to help reduce the environmental impact of food waste. M&S launched its Plan A initiative in 2007, becoming the first major retailer to reach carbon neutral status in 2012.

Earlier this year M&S further pledged to cut its carbon footprint by a third by 2025, as part of its commitment to become a net zero Scope 3 business across its entire supply chain and products by 2040. The retailer has set out a detailed roadmap to net zero using science-based targets aligned to the UN ambition of limiting global warming to 1.5c.

Kieran McCauley, Store Manager at M&S Omagh, said, “We’re extremely proud of our food redistribution programme with Neighbourly that helps provide meals for people in our local communities. Across our region there are lots of successful partnerships but with the launch of the app we’re able and eager to do more, so we are looking for charities to come forward to partner with our stores to help us redistribute the surplus and support our work to reduce the environmental impact of food surplus.

“Supporting charities such as REACH Food Bank and Slate – Shelter NI enables us to support the needs of people affected in the Omagh area by poverty, mental and physical ill-health. It is incredible to see the impact our redistribution programme is already having on these local community charities and the lives of those in need. By reducing our food wastage, we have provided 21,900 meals – we are looking forward to continuing to support local charities and community groups who need it the most.”

Charity and community groups based in the area who would like to get involved in the food surplus programme or other charity initiatives are encouraged to email mandsfood@neighbourly.com to find out more.