James Hall Spar sandwiches

Preston-based James Hall & Co has teamed up with food waste app Too Good To Go.

The wholesaler, which supplies Spar retailers throughout the north of England, will allow customers to purchase ‘magic bags’ of surplus stock close to the end of its shelf life but still within its best before date as part of a trial.

Too Good To Go allows users to search for a store taking part in the scheme and provides businesses with a platform to reach those who want to prevent food waste in-store and access unwanted food at a marked down price.

After working with over 70 food banks across the north of England, James Hall said it has found logistical challenges when donating fresh food. Many organisations do not have the required refrigeration facilities to store or transport fresh food safely, it added.

“Searching for a solution, James Hall & Co’s corporate social responsibility team approached Too Good To Go and we are delighted to announce that from the 14 September we will trial the scheme in ten of our company owned stores in Lancashire and Merseyside,” said Julie McAulay, company stores director.

“This new initiative will complement our current food bank collections and will ensure that we can safely re-distribute all forms of surplus stock for individuals and families across Lancashire and Merseyside. If the scheme is a success, we hope to roll out the initiative across our company owned stores division.”

The new scheme is being trialled in ten of its Spar stores. They are Birkdale, Cambridge Road, Leyland, Newton-le-Willows, Ormskirk, Poulton, Prescot Road, Roe Lane, Warton and Bispham Road.

“Fighting food waste is a critical step in tackling climate change and having businesses like James Hall join our 4,000 plus partners allows us to increase our impact,” said Jamie Crummie, co-founder of Too Good To Go.

This year, Too Good To Go has also teamed up with Medicine Bakery and Le Pain Quotidien.