OLIO, the app that encourages food sharing and fights against food waste, has expanded internationally to cover all corners of the globe.

The app has already been downloaded over 100,000 times and food and other household items are shared around the world on a daily basis.

Food Waste Heros

The demand for items on the app is so high that OLIO are now on the lookout for more Food Waste Heroes to help support their growing community.

Tessa Cook, co-founder of OLIO describes Food Waste Heroes as “members of the OLIO volunteer community who actively collect unsold food from local businesses to save it from going to waste. OLIO Food Waste Heroes love rescuing food and sharing it within their community across a diverse range of recipients”.

Toni Dean, a member of the Sainsbury’s ‘Waste Less Save More’ initiative in Swadlincote described her motivation to become an OLIO Food Waste Hero:

“I think it’s a wonderful way for individuals to play a part in the reduction of food waste. The entire process is great: engaging in the community, networking with like minded individuals and also contributing to social need”.

In the beginning Toni was a typical user of the OLIO app listing surplus food that she had at home so that it wouldn’t go to waste. When her children moved out of home, Toni found adjusting food quantities for shopping and cooking difficult, she often bought or cooked too much food.

OLIO Food Sharing

The OLIO app meant that the excess food didn’t need to get thrown away. She also used the app to help colleagues who were struggling to afford their weekly shop.

Over time Toni found she wanted to be more involved and looked into the other opportunities that were available. As a Food Waste Hero, Toni has built a team in her local town who take turns collecting surplus food from local businesses and listing it on OLIO.

The team contains a wide range of members, from parents who have some extra time before or after school runs, to people who have flexible schedules that allow them to donate their spare time to the initiative.

As part of the initiative, members are allowed to retain 10% of the food that they collect for themselves.

If you’d like to be part of the food waste solution, check out all the different OLIO volunteer positions including the option of becoming a Food Waste Hero.