A FROME resident has criticised Greggs for not donating unsold-food at the end of the day to charities in Frome.
Each Greggs branch usually partners up with a local charity that will distribute unsold food, but this is not the case in Frome. Currently all unsold food is taken by Greggs to go back into their Outlet programme which sells day-old food at a reduced price.
Frome resident Roger Melly said, “I am disappointed with Greggs’ decision to not donate food to good local causes and instead choose to make a profit. While the Outlet programme may help some families on a tight budget, it doesn’t address the issue of food waste and doesn’t necessarily benefit the local community.
“I would appreciate it if Greggs could provide more transparency and accountability in their approach to tackling food poverty in Frome. It’s clear that the unsold food from Greggs shops in Frome is being taken out to other locations, instead of being donated to those in need within the local community. This decision seems to prioritise Greggs’ profit margin over the needs of people in Frome who are financially challenged.”
Greggs say that they donate “a portion” of money raised through the Outlet programme into local communities.
A Greggs spokesperson said, “While we don’t currently have a charity partner located in Frome, the unsold food from these shops is channelled into our Outlet programme – these shops offer day-old food products at a big price reduction, meaning that families on a tight budget can pick up a bargain. Our Greggs Outlets generate a profit, and we choose to donate a portion of that profit via the Greggs Foundation, putting money back into local community organisations that are working to tackle food poverty in areas of the greatest need.
“In addition, we also support over 1,050 local charities across the UK which take our surplus food and pass it on to people in need, and we work with Too Good to Go through their food waste reduction app, offering our customers ‘magic bags’ of unsold food in selected shops at a heavily discounted price. In 2022, over 900 of our shops used the app and we’ve sold over 1.8 million magic bags since we launched the offer in 2020.
“We continue to work locally to identify regions where we could partner with charities to support those within our communities to help tackle food waste and reduce food poverty.”
