Different sectors Food Waste Heroes can collect from
As Olio proudly expands we’re continuously exploring new food donation partnerships so we can achieve our mission of solving the climate crisis, by ending (food) waste, one share at a time. You will likely be familiar with some of our largest partners (Tesco, Iceland) where we’re collecting from thousands of sites each week.
The last couple of years we’ve been exploring new sectors including Catering, Travel, Convenience, and TV and film sets as it’s clear our network of trained Food Waste Heroes are uniquely able to rescue food that is more challenging for other organisations!
Catering
🥗 Sites where a catering company supplies the food
⏰ Collection times are usually after lunch between 2pm-4pm. Some collections can be in the morning or the evening.
📍 Types of sites can include:
- Offices
- This could be any company that has a canteen for staff, we work with law firms, and insurance companies to name a few
- Stadiums
- Football and rugby stadiums where Olio collects if there is a home game
- Schools and universities
- Any company that provides food to schools across the UK, including Impact Food Group, Olive Dining and Independent Catering
- Healthcare
- NHS hospitals
- Defense sites
- Military bases across the UK!
📝Collection details:
- Food Waste Heroes usually need to call a site contact 1 hour ahead of the collection to confirm if there’s food or not. We’re moving away from this as it’s difficult to track!
- Some sites use Olio Collect (this is when staff confirm whether there is or isn't food available and this update is sent directly to the group chat) - we’re working to get as many sites as possible using Olio Collect!
- 😋 You can expect to collect surplus pre-packaged or cooked food (from cooked vegetables to cooked meals) from the office canteen, please see the tasty examples below
- To pick up the food, you’ll either need to go to the building reception and ask for a business and/or specific person or access through the building's loading bay.
✅ Food from this sector is very popular and easy to redistribute on Olio, the average % of food successfully shared is 91%.
For more details on catering collections, check our FAQs here
Travel
🥗 Collections from train stations
⏰ Collection times are either late at night or at lunch time.
📍 Types of sites can include collections from St Pancras Station and Euston Station from travel companies like Eurostar and Avanti West Coast
📝Collection details:
- Food Waste Heroes usually need to call a site contact 1 hour ahead of the collection to confirm if there’s food or not. We’re moving away from this as it’s difficult to track!
- Some sites use Olio Collect (this is when staff confirm whether there is or isn't food available and this update is sent directly to the group chat) - we’re working to get as many sites as possible using Olio Collect!
- 😋 You can expect to collect surplus pre-packaged items (delicious sandwiches, quiches and yogurts)
✅ Food from this sector is very popular and easy to redistribute on Olio - the average % of food successfully shared is 83%
Convenience
🥗 Collections from small convenience stores usually located within residential areas
📍 Types of sites can include: One Stop
⏰ Collection times are mostly in the evenings at 8:30pm.
📝 Collection details:
- Olio Collect is used to post if there is or isn't any food available
- 😋 You can expect to collect use-by and best before items (think bakery items, sandwiches, fruit & veg) and sometimes non food items like flowers!
For more details on convenience store collections, check our One Stop FAQs who is the largest convenience business we work with.
TV and film sets
🥗 Food Waste Heroes collect from TV/film sets where a catering company supplies the food
📍 Types of sites can include:
- Production teams are sometimes based in a TV or film studio;
- Other times they will move around and may be based in a temporary location like an office, a closed down store, a car park, or in the middle of a field!
⏰ Collections times vary (but are often in the afternoon). Collections are normally one-off, and added to the Volunteer Hub just a few days in advance. The schedule may change on the day, so we ask that you please only claim these slots if you’re able to be flexible with pick-up times.
📝 Collection details:
- There can be lots of onsite contacts, so we may ask you to join a Whatsapp group chat where they will confirm if there is food to collect, and potentially update the collection time.
- You may be asked to sign a nondisclosure agreement (NDA) on arrival, which means that you will not share information about the production after your collection.
- There are designated areas on set where visitors (including Food Waste Heroes) are permitted access. You will need to meet a member of staff for the collection, so please do not enter any area you’re not sure about, without being given permission first!
- 😋 You can expect to collect delicious cooked and hot food (from cooked meals to desserts) and some packaged items (mostly snacks and quick lunches)
✅ Food from this sector is very popular and easy to redistribute on Olio - the average rate of food successfully shared is 91%
For more details on production collections, check our FAQs here
Supermarkets
🥗 Food Waste Heroes collect from supermarkets of all different sizes from express stores to superstores.
📍 Types of sites can include: Tesco, Iceland and Waitrose
📝 Collection details:
- Predominately via the Foodiverse platform (Tesco has an ‘auto estimation’ technology in place that will calculate if food is available or not) or Olio Collect where staff confirm if there’s food available, normally 1 hour before scheduled collection time
- 😋 You can expect to collect all types of grocery items which are use-by and best-before items and sometimes non food items, check out the example listings:
For more details on supermarket collections, search the specific supermarket in our FAQs here