The Midcounties Co-operative has partnered with app Olio in a bid to reduce its food waste by a quarter by the end of the year.

Unsold items from its stores across Gloucestershire are now being offered out to the community instead of being thrown away.

London-based Olio is a female founded business which aims to stop food from going in the bin by letting businesses and individuals list them for free collection or sale.

Its Food Waste Heroes have been visiting nine Your Co-op Food stores in the county since July.

In the first three weeks they collected more than 9,300 items, which have helped feed more than 200 households with the equivalent of 4,600 meals.

Saasha Celestial-One, CEO and co-founder of Olio, said: "We are delighted that The Midcounties Co-Operative is the latest supermarket to trial Olio and our Food Waste Heroes Programme, helping us stop edible food from going to waste.

"We've already rescued and redistributed almost 5,000 meals worth of food together in just three weeks - so we can't wait to see what joint impact we can deliver in the long term."

One member of the public who has already benefitted from the Olio partnership said: "I am a carer, and on a very low wage, so the Olio collections have really helped. It's a fantastic scheme, and the food would otherwise go in the bin, but is now helping people on low wages, the elderly and even uni students, who just about survive on loans."

The Midcounties Co-operative, a society owned by its 700,000 members, has reduced the number of items going to waste across its Your Co-op Food stores by 21% since 2019. It is now aiming to hit a 25% reduction target on those levels by the end of this year.

Peter Westall, chief values officer for The Midcounties Co-operative, said: "This partnership is an essential way that we can help reduce food waste in Gloucestershire, and has already been a great success.

"By doing good together, we are working towards a future where not only we limit food waste wherever possible, but also can turn it into a positive by helping those who need it most in our communities."

The partnership is also a further way the society can help reduce its own carbon footprint. By reducing the items that would be thrown away, over 8,400kg of CO2 emissions have been saved, the equivalent of taking 28,500 car miles off the road.