Sainsbury’s opens walk-in freezer pop-up to tackle food waste
Supermarket retailer Sainsbury’s latest way to help Brits avoid food waste is a pop-up store styled like a giant walk-in freezer.
‘Sainsfreeze’ will open for two days at the end of September in London’s Shoreditch Boxpark, with the aim of educating people on how to make food last longer using their freezer.
The concept store will include a range of food which shoppers can usually expect from a Sainsbury’s store – including vegetables, fruit, fish, dairy, meat, and baked goods.
Unlike a normal store, however, everything will be frozen. “Foods normally found on each aisle will be frozen in innovative ways to help save space and keep food for longer, thus reducing food waste,” explained Sainsbury’s in a statement.
The items included on Sainsfreeze’s shelves have been selected off the back of research done by the supermarket. Sainsbury’s asked the UK public which foods they are most likely to throw away because they are about to go off.
Some of the most wasted foods include milk, eggs, bread, onions, bananas and herbs. All food will be given away for free at the pop-up store – but in a way that showcases their freezing capabilities. For example, eggs and herbs will be given away in ice trays, with the latter chopped and frozen in oil or water, while mincemeat on offer will be portioned and frozen flat.
Ruth Cranston, Director of Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability at Sainsbury’s, said: “When people think about climate change, food waste often gets overlooked. Around a third of food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted and it contributes a whopping 8-10% of greenhouse gas emissions globally each year.
“That is why we are launching Sainsfreeze, to help customers try and combat food waste and learn handy hints and top tips along the way.”
Cranston added that “innovative freezing” is also a helpful way to save money on food bills – something many shoppers will be interested in as the cost of living crisis is likely to be even more challenging come winter.
Sainsfreeze is the latest effort from the supermarket to help its shoppers reduce food waste, in line with its own commitment to halve it across its operations by 2030.
Last September, the retailer began working with Neighbourly, an initiative which redistributes food and other everyday goods within communities. Sainsbury’s says it has donated more than five million meals so far through the scheme.
Additionally, earlier this year the supermarket announced it would be following the trend set by its competitors and removing best before dates from the majority of its fresh produce.
Sainsfreeze will open 27-28 September 2022 at London’s Shoreditch Boxpark, E1 6GY.
