Sainsbury's shoppers will be able to pick up bargain boxes of fruit and veg for £2 at the retailer's Durham, Whitley Bay and Sunderland stores.
The ‘Taste Me, Don’t Waste Me’ boxes will include a variety of surplus fruit and vegetables that could have otherwise gone to waste and will be available from 200 Sainsbury's stores following a successful trial last year.
The boxes, which are part of the grocery giant’s commitment to halve its food waste by 2030, will be sold for a lower price to offer customers have access to affordable nutritious food, as the cost of living continues to rise.
Customers can find the boxes in Sainsbury’s fresh produce aisles and all products included are carefully selected to ensure they are still fresh. The initiative is part of the retailer’s commitment to halve food waste across its value chain by 2030. Last year, Sainsbury’s also began removing ‘best before’ dates from over 100 product lines, including pears, onions, tomatoes and citrus fruits, with over 130 lines to follow, to help customers reduce food waste at home.
Richard Crampton, director of fresh food at Sainsbury’s, said, “At Sainsbury’s we’re committed to helping our customers access tasty, nutritious food that’s better for them and the planet too. It’s great to see that shoppers have been enjoying the ‘Taste Me, Don’t Waste Me’ boxes, which is why we’re really pleased to roll out the trial to over 200 supermarkets, helping even more people across the country. We believe that everyone deserves to eat well at an affordable price, and we hope this additional support will ensure that good quality food doesn’t go to waste.”
The step is the latest in a string of initiatives Sainsbury’s has launched to help customers access affordable fruit and vegetables. Currently the retailer is offering £2 top-up coupons as part of the Government-funded NHS Healthy Start scheme, to help low-income families in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to purchase fresh, frozen and tinned fruit and vegetables.
The UK's second biggest retailer joins German discounter Lidl in offering fruit and vegetable boxes made up of produce that would otherwise have gone to waste. Lild's Waste Not boxes are available in every store and cost £1.50 for approximately 5kg of fruit and vegetables.
Lidl's rival Aldi last month signed up to the Too Good To Go scheme, which allows people to buy a Magic Bag, containing food items that would have been thrown away otherwise for a discounted price. Morrisons is also a member of the scheme, offering around £10 worth of groceries for £3.09.
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