A war on waste is being waged at a Chester supermarket so food past its ‘best before’ date can feed hungry mouths instead of going in the bin.

Morrisons at the Bache is giving away provisions to local good causes including the Share Shop Chester in Northgate Street, Richmond Court homeless shelter in Boughton, women’s refuges and the Salvation Army.

Waste not want not

Angela Gardiner, in-store community champion, explained: “Since December last year Morrisons decided that instead of putting all the good food to waste – all the ‘best before’, not the ‘use by’ dates – we give to local charities; homeless people, to various different refuges and we have the Salvation Army as well.

"They come in and collect on a Wednesday evening for Newtown. They like to distribute it.

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“There are tins, sweets, crisps, lots of cereal. Most of it is still in date and if it’s out of the ‘best before’ date it would only be by a little bit. It’s perfectly safe.”

Morrisons supermarket at the Bache

She said giving away the goodies made sense as, for example, split multi-packs couldn’t be sold and instead of selling dented tins at a discount it had been decided to offer them to local good causes.

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“It’s like the fruit and veg that we donate. If you bought a lettuce on the 17th , you would still eat it on the 18th, wouldn’t you? It’s just commonsense. We look at the food and make sure it’s in brilliant condition. We would never distribute anything that wasn’t,” added Angela.

“Before it would just have been wasted. Every week I have two massive big trolleys’ full to donate.”

Charities 'grateful'

Angela, who said the various charities were ‘very grateful’, also takes goodies in to patients young and old at the nearby Countess of Chester Hospital.

She commented: “It makes sense and it’s helping the local community. This is what Morrisons is all about, the community and serving our customers.”

Talking about the Richmond Court homeless hostel, Angela added: “Richmond Court have a drop-in centre in the evening where they can go in and have a meal so the veg I take up there - loads of tomatoes, carrots - they make soups, they make hot meals for people that drop in for a meal.”

Angela Gardiner, community champion at Morrisons supermarket at the Bache.

Angela, who has worked at Morrisons at Bache for eight years, made headlines herself when her now 21-year-old daughter Stephanie was the youngest ever baby to be fitted with a pace-maker because of a congenital heart block. Today Stephanie still has a pace-maker but is ‘absolutely fine’ and studying law at Leeds University with ambitions to become a barrister.

Angela can help with prizes for good causes or even Chester schools raising funds for new equipment.

Fund-raising match

On Thursday, May 5, a charity football match is taking between Morrisons staff and the Blue Spares group at the Lookers Vauxhall stadium in aid of the Sue Ryder and Cancer Research charities. Prizes are sought for a related auction. For example, The Bromfield Arms at Hoole has donated a two-course meal for two.

Other retailers who donate food to good causes in Chester include Sainsbury’s, Marks and Spencer, Tesco and Pret a Manger.