UK supermarket Co-op has partnered with Microsoft to trial a new system to reduce its food waste. The system, known as Caboodle, connects supermarkets, cafes and restaurants that produce excess food with community groups and volunteers who can put this surplus to good use.
Caboodle is built using Microsoft’s Power Platform technology and aims to create a single network where retailers and community groups can discuss mutually beneficial arrangements that stop excess food being thrown away.
The initiative is a response to the reported 1.1 million tonnes of food waste that is produced by retail and hospitality in the UK every year.
Shirine Khoury-Haq, interim CEO of the Co-op said: “The amount of good quality surplus food that’s not currently being redistributed is astounding.
“We’re currently trialling caboodle in over 100 food stores and the results we’re seeing so far are incredible. We’ll be rolling it out across our entire estate and hope that all other retailers and businesses within hospitality will see the benefit too.”
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