🤝 What is the Co-op and Olio partnership?
Co-op is working with Olio to get surplus food from stores directly into the hands of local people. Each evening, Olio volunteers and charity partners collect unsold food and share it with the community, keeping good food in circulation where it's needed most.
🏬 Which stores are taking part?
We're now in Phase 2 of the trial, with an additional 42 stores launching on 13 July 2026. In total, we'll potentially be collecting from 68 stores across London, the South East, South West, Midlands, North West, Yorkshire, and Scotland.
⏰ What time are collections?
Collection times vary depending on when your store closes:
Store closes at 22:00: collect between 20:30 and 21:30
Store closes at 23:00: collect between 21:00 and 21:30
Store closes at midnight: collect between 21:30 and 22:00
On Sundays, if your store closes before 8:30pm, collections take place 30 minutes before closing time instead.
If you don't receive a confirmation message, assume there's no food available and don't attend your collection.
🥕 What food can be collected?
Volunteers can collect all food types, as long as items are within their Use By date and safe to eat.
This includes:
Fresh produce
Bakery
Ambient
Chilled
Sandwiches and deli
Some non-food items too, such as flowers
Always follow your store's existing food safety guidance.
⚠️ A note on bakery items
Co-op stores can donate bakery items, but only if store colleagues have packaged and labelled them first. Doughnuts in a labelled box are fine to collect. Loose, unlabelled bakery, like a bag of mixed pastries with no dates or labels, can't be accepted.
If you receive labelled bakery items, list them using the name shown on the label, not as "loose bakery".
🪪 How do store colleagues verify a collector?
Show your Volunteer ID from the Volunteer Hub when you arrive at the store.
💬 Feedback and issues
If you have questions or experience a problem with your collection, fill out an Issue Report Form under "My Collections" on the Volunteer Hub.
Please also share feedback, stories, and photos in your squad chat. We love to hear them! 💚