Avanti West Coast, the train operator that runs on the West Coast Mainline between London and Scotland, has partnered with charities to share out nearly £93,000 of unused food,
The food was usually served onboard trains and at First Class lounges, but the donations will help the train operator to reduce food waste and help local people in need.
40 tonnes of food has been donated after the Coronavirus pandemic lockdowns left Avanti West Coast with passengers making essential journeys only.
With help from DHL Supply Chain, which is responsible for loading refreshments on to its trains, the operator joined up with charities and food banks in Liverpool, London, Wolverhampton, Manchester, Preston and Glasgow to distribute the food.
One of the main organisations receiving eggs, olives, crisps, fruit, sandwiches, soft drinks and porridge was OLIO, the free food sharing app.
For the last 11 months, so-called Food Waste Heroes have picked up surplus food from London Euston and this is then listed on the app to allow neighbours to come and collect food for free.
OLIO has helped share £38,000 of food out to people and has prevented 38,000kg of CO2 from being released into the atmosphere.
Rail Minister, Chris Heaton-Harris, said: “Our transport heroes have been at the front line of keeping the country moving and again are stepping up to make a real difference to those most at need.”
“It is great to see Avanti West Coast take a significant step in helping those struggling in our communities and ensuring that their surplus food goes to a good cause.”
Tessa Clarke, Co-founder & CEO at OLIO, said: “We're incredibly grateful to the Avanti West Coast team for donating their surplus food, and to our Food Waste Heroes who are collecting and redistributing it. At a time like this it's more important than ever that this delicious food is going to support local communities, where it is having such an enormous impact.”
Lily Pearson, Account Manager of Avanti West Coast at OLIO, said: “Avanti West Coast kindly donating their unwanted food, are directly targeting food poverty and loneliness – two issues that have been made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic – by feeding those who need it and providing a connection between members of the local community.”
Phil Whittingham, Managing Director at Avanti West Coast, said: “We work with producers across the UK who take pride in supplying our customers with good, quality food, so we don't want it to go to waste while our services are for those making essential journeys, which is why we're sharing our surplus food to help others.”
“We're proud to be making a difference in the communities we serve by donating items of food and drink to charities, food banks and organisations, including OLIO, to support their work to help those who don't have enough, which is becoming increasingly important as we face the impact of COVID-19.”
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