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?
15 stores across London, Brighton & Hove, the South West, and the Midlands are currently part of the programme:
What time are collections?
Collections take place between 8:30pm and 9:30pm each evening.
On Sundays, if your store closes before 8:30pm, collections will take place 30 minutes before closing time instead.
❌ If you don't receive a confirmation message, assume there is no food available and do not 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 & deli
Some non-food items can also be shared, such as flowers. Please follow your store's existing food safety guidance at all times.
⚠️ A note on bakery items ⚠️
Co-op stores can donate bakery items, but only if store colleagues have packaged and labelled them first. This means items like doughnuts in a box with a label are fine to collect but loose, unlabelled bakery (e.g. a bag of mixed pastries with no dates or labels) cannot 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! 💚