ICA Sweden has a central agreement with the Salvation Army and several local partnerships with charities to donate food from ICA’s warehouses that cannot be sold in stores because it is short dated or has damaged packaging, even though the food itself is fully edible. These products meet the same basic food safety requirements as ICA’s other products. Food that has passed its best before date is never donated. Many individual ICA stores also have their own partnerships for donating food to various charitable organisations.

In the Baltic region Rimi works in partnership with FoodBank, which again distributes food to those in need. This partnership has been ongoing for a number of years. There have also been campaigns in which Rimi customers and employees in Lithuania have donated products via collecting boxes in Rimi stores. Campaigns with FoodBank have also been carried out in Estonia. Along with Save the Children and Lithuanian chocolate manufacturer Rūta, Rimi Baltic in Lithuania has also produced a special chocolate bar which is sold exclusively in Rimi stores, with 5% of the proceeds going to a day centre for children from poor and socially disadvantaged families. Rimi Baltic’s hypermarkets in Lithuania and Estonia have also set up boxes where customers can donate products to families in need.

Facts
ICA has many initiatives to reduce food waste, both in stores and behind the scenes. Some stores prepare meals using short-dated products, others reduce the prices of the items or donate them to charitable organisations.