M&S Food has donated 100million meals in surplus food from its stores over the last decade through its partnership with food redistribution partner, Neighbourly.

Supporting more than 4.7 million people through more than 3,000 local charities and community organisations, this year has seen over 30million meals donated, the highest levels seen since the launch of the M&S Food x Neighbourly partnership in 2015.

Marks & Spencer colleagues work closely with Neighbourly’s charity partners to redistribute surplus food from stores, to support communities, including families in need, young people, and those with disabilities. This has resulted in M&S donating over 100million meals through the partnership since it launched a decade ago.

“As M&S Food’s Plan A Ambassador, I’m delighted that our partnership with Neighbourly is not only reducing food waste but also helping people. We really do our best to keep waste to a minimum, but when we have a little extra, it’s great to know it’s being shared.”

Ben Fogle, Plan A Ambassador, M&S Food

The partnership with Neighbourly has prevented over 49,000 tonnes of good quality food from going to waste, contributing to M&S’ target of 100% of edible surplus food to be redistributed by 2025/26, as part of its ‘Plan A’ roadmap to net zero.

“Since launching our partnership with Neighbourly in 2015, we’ve redistributed the equivalent of 100 million delicious meals for people and communities in need across the UK from surplus food from our stores. This not only helps tackle food waste and supports us in reaching our Plan A goals, but also makes a real difference to those who need it most.”

Lucinda Langton, Head of Sustainability, M&S Food

In the next phase of M&S’ partnership with Neighbourly, the retailer is trialling a new surplus food initiative, which allows individual collectors to pick up donations to redistribute within the community. The initiative, which specifically supports the 2% of stores which don’t have a regular charity partner to donate to, is set to significantly increase the amount of fresh surplus food from the retailer reaching those who need it most.

The new programme is currently rolling out to an additional 50 stores across the UK and has already enabled M&S colleagues to redistribute the equivalent of over 30,000 meals.