OLIO is a food sharing app that prevents waste

share

Every year, UK households throw away £700 of unwanted food. It is a sin of the highest order in a world where food is scarce and some countries are starving.

Not only do UK households throw away £12.5 billion of edible food and drink each year, but a third of all food produced globally goes uneaten. Our children will despise us for this.

Apparently, there is now an app for that… and it’s well overdue. OLIO is a free app that connects neighbours with each other, and with local shops and cafes so surplus food can be shared, not thrown away. Available to download on iOS and Android, OLIO has seen 100,000 user visits in its first six months since its formation in July, 2015.

Currently the app is only available in London within the M25, but the company says it will expand throughout 2016. All people need to do is take a photo of the food offered, add a description of what it is and post details about how people can pick it up. For those who want to pick it up need to log in, browse, evaluate and collect.

If you’re after some food, just log-in and browse through what’s available as most stuff is either free or heavily discounted. You can then message whoever is offering it and find out how to go and collect it.

This sounds like a winner. The gluttonous can assuage their consciences, and the skint can eat for free. Presumably its success or not in London will be the barometer of any expansion across the UK.