Asda supermarket gives out free vegetables in bid to cut food waste

The food included fresh vegetables such as parsnips and carrots
The food included fresh vegetables such as parsnips and carrots

An Asda supermarket has been giving away free vegetables and other produce to prevent it from going to waste.

The supermarket, in Barry, the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, gave out the free food to homeless people and residents of the area.

The food included fresh vegetables such as parsnips, Brussels sprouts, carrots and broccoli.

Pictures were posted on social media of Asda's 'real help to local people'.

'We didn't want to see the final bags of veg in our Barry store go to waste,' an Asda spokesman told the BBC. 'So we took the decision to give them away. We hope they were enjoyed.'

“Hope local horse / livestock owners get down to the store and help themselves” (Photo: Aled Williams)
“Hope local horse / livestock owners get down to the store and help themselves” (Photo: Aled Williams)

'I was pleased to see Asda being proactive in offering free veg rather than just throwing it away,' Aled Williams told Wales Online.

Twitter user Aled Jones posted: “Da iawn (very well) to Asda Barry for giving away free vegetables rather than throwing them away.

'Hope local horse / livestock owners get down to the store and help themselves.'

The problem with waste

The good deed by Asda follows news that the East of England Co-op has become the first major retailer to start selling products beyond their ‘Best Before’ date with the aim of significantly reducing food waste in its stores.

It is estimated that every year between 30 – 50% of food produced globally for human consumption is wasted.

Resource efficiency experts WRAP estimates that £13bn worth of edible food is wasted in Britain every year - the majority of which is thrown away needlessly.

The UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has also called for a renewed global commitment for zero tolerance on food loss and waste. It said the loss and waste occurs throughout the supply chain, from farm to fork.