Penge-based charity, Living Well Bromley, has ramped up the number of meals it is providing to those in need thanks to M&S’s food redistribution programme.
An innovative app, launched in March 2020 is used to notify charities when surplus food is available, helping to increase donations and stop food going to waste. Since the app launch, M&S Beckenham Foodhall and M&S West Wickham Foodhall have provided over 72,499 meals to the local community.
Rebecca Day, Project Coordinator at Living Well Bromley in Penge said, “We are so thankful to M&S for its support over the last six years. It was our first retail partner and continues to be our main regular supplier of surplus food.
“From starting with one small collection a week, we now have four, often with tray loads full of fresh fruit, vegetables, and bakery items. This enables us to give out balanced bags of food, plus some tasty extra cakes and biscuits which make everyone happy!
“We look forward to continuing to work with M&S and thank all their staff at Beckenham and West Wickham stores for their support.”
Andy Sayer, Store Manager at M&S Beckenham Foodhall said, “When we have surplus food our absolute priority is for it to end up on someone’s plate, through our charity redistribution programme with Neighbourly. We’re thrilled that the app has already helped to make a difference to charities like Living Well Bromley who do such an incredible job in our local community. By providing charities with updates in real-time, they’re able to collect even more meals to feed the people they support and help us to prevent food going to waste.”
Since 2015, M&S stores have supported over 2,000 local causes nationwide, from food banks to youth clubs and hospices, donating over 22 million meals so far to those in need. In partnership with Neighbourly the new colleague app is now in all 585 M&S stores, enabling many of them to more than double their food redistribution rates. Across the UK, more than 11 million meals have been donated since 1st March 2020.
M&S is always looking for new partners to work with. Local charity and community groups who would like to get involved in the food surplus programme or other charity initiatives are encouraged to email [email protected] to find out more.
