Britain’s most popular supermarket announced that it plans to give away food which is about to go out of date, at absolutely no cost.
Yellow-sticker items are completely free after 9.30pm.
Before a nationwide rollout, it will be trialled in a small number of Express stores UK-wide.
At present, Tesco’s yellow label system reduces the cost of food items by 90%.
Tesco to hand out free food to stop food waste
Tesco plans to give away food which is about to go out of date at absolutely no cost.
The cost-slashing yellow sticker will be revolutionised and mean the item is completely free after 9.30pm.
— Ronke Lawal (@ronkelawal) March 13, 2025
The supermarket also gives unsold food to charities in order to reduce the amount of produce they have to throw away, which they will continue to do under the new scheme.
Despite these schemes, Tesco reported more than 35,000 tonnes of food waste in the UK last year.
According to the Metro, for now, staff will get priority on food which has been reduced earlier in the day and then customers will be able to take home almost out-of-date items in the run-up to closing time.
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An internal memo said the plan would allow Tesco to “continue with our drive to reduce food waste within our own operations”, The Telegraph reports.
A spokesman for the supermarket said: “We are constantly looking for innovative new ways to reduce food waste.
“This trial, in a small number of our Express stores, will allow customers to take any remaining yellow stickered items for free at the end of the day after they have first been offered to charities and colleagues.”
