1,800 Islanders sign up to surplus food app Olio

After launching Olio – a free app that connects individuals with local businesses so surplus food can be shared – in Jersey, Elis Joudalova, has already helped Tesco Alliance reduce its food waste by 80 per cent.

And now the Channel Islands Co-operative Society has signed up to be a distributor of food on the app. Only food that is past its best-before by date but not after the use-by date can be distributed.

Food is collected by volunteers and then posted on the Olio app – people are then able to request what they would like before collecting it from volunteers’ homes.

The app was initially launched in the UK in 2015 and since then more than 214,000 food items have been shared.

Miss Joudalova, who works full-time in HR and is the food waste leader for Olio in Jersey, said the support she has had for the app in such a short time has been ‘amazing’.

She said: ‘It’s fantastic that the Co-op has got on-board because they are a community-based supermarket. It has taken some time to sort out the logistics but it is working really well.

‘We are picking up from Grande Marché in St Helier twice on a Saturday and at St Peter once a week. We are getting items from multi-packs when there might be one or two missing, as well as lots of fresh produce and a lot of bread.’

Seventeen cafés and restaurants are also offering their surplus food on the app, with sushi and Japanese restaurant Bento the latest to sign up.

Mark Cox, chief operating officer of the Co-operative Society, said: ‘The Society has always looked to reduce the impact of its operations on the environment and we have been keen to reduce the amount of food that is wasted. Despite having robust and very effective ordering systems it is inevitable that we will have some waste product.

‘Olio offers a very simple solution which is organised by the community for the community, something we are proud to support. Using Olio really is a win win – it’s good for the community and good for the environment. W e would encourage as many people as possible to download the app and give it a go.’

Miss Joudalova says that the Olio team in the UK cannot believe how well the app is working in Jersey.

She said: ‘Volunteers in the UK are just amazed at how well it is working in Jersey. People tell me they think it is incredible what we are doing here.

‘It’s great that in a tiny island like Jersey we are putting ourselves on the map for sustainability and reducing food waste.’

Any food that is not suitable for human consumption is currently being donated to the Jersey Animal Shelter.

To find out more visit Jersey Olio Community on Facebook.

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