Greggs opened its 30th outlet store in December
(Picture: Niklas Halle’n / AFP via Getty Images)Greggs has opened an outlet shop in East London to tackle food waste and poverty.
The 30th Greggs outlet shop opened on Cundy Road, Newham, on December 2, as part of an initiative to support socially deprived areas.
Greggs, which established the initiative in 1972, intends to open 50 outlet shops by 2025. Most of the current shops are situated in the North and Midlands, including in Newcastle and Birmingham.
The outlet stores sell unsold, day-old food at a reduced price, allowing families to spend less on Greggs products.
A share of the profits is donated to The Greggs Foundation, which helps communities and organisations that help tackle food poverty. Last year, Greggs says that its outlet stores raised £370,000 for charity.
In 2021, the outlet stores sold 1.1 million sweet products, 1.1 million sandwiches, and one million savoury products, saving 880 tonnes of food.
The bakery chain has also partnered with the food-saving app Too Good to Go, which allows shops and restaurants to sell their unsold food at a reduced price.
Roisin Currie, CEO at Greggs said: “As a leading food on-the-go retailer in the UK, it’s important that we do our bit to put an end to food waste and help to tackle poverty, hunger, and deprivation across all the communities we operate in.
“We have three channels for giving good food a second chance – we donate it to charities who can make use of it; we offer it to our customers at a discount via the Too Good To Go app, and we sell it at a discount through our outlet shops.
“The expansion of our outlet shop estate is a core part of the Greggs Pledge and a testament to the commitment we make every day in supporting our customers’ health, our communities, and our planet, that we are on track to deliver against our 2025 targets.”
Tracy Lynch, Greggs foundation manager, said: “The funding we receive from Greggs outlets directly contributes to our community hub programme, ensuring that profits generated by Greggs outlets stay within the local community to help address issues of poverty and inequality.
“Money will be put towards one-year grants, which are typically used to cover salaries, overheads, or community projects, that really make an impact in local communities close to outlet shops.”
