Discount supermarket chain Lidl GB and corporate social responsibility (CSR) platform Neighbourly have widened their evening food surplus collection scheme with food-sharing app Olio to 200 stores across the UK.
The expansion follows a trial at 20 stores, and there are plans for a nationwide rollout by the end of the year.
Under the scheme, surplus food such as fresh produce and bakery items can be donated for free collection through the Olio app at the close of each trading day.
If local charities cannot carry out late-evening collections, volunteers described as Olio's "Food Waste Heroes" collect surplus stock before stores shut, including items that cannot be stored overnight.
Once the scheme is introduced nationally, "the initiative is expected to redistribute 5,000 tonnes of surplus food each year, the equivalent of nearly 11.9 million meals".
The stores covered by the expanded programme include sites ranging from Newcastle to London.
The arrangement adds to Lidl GB's current surplus food donation work with Neighbourly.
Through its Feed it Back scheme, the retailer has donated 50 million meals since 2016 by connecting stores with local good causes.
According to the press statement, the Olio addition is the "first" time the two redistribution networks have been brought together.
Lidl GB corporate affairs director Georgina Hall said: "With our sights set on a nationwide rollout by the end of this year, this expanding partnership will soon empower communities to rescue up to nearly 12 million meals every single year. This collaboration will make a huge impact on the lives of the most vulnerable in our communities everywhere."
In April, Lidl GB set out plans to open more than 50 new stores in the UK, backed by a £600m ($804.1m) capital commitment.
In September last year, sister company Lidl was cleared by France's competition authority, Autorité de la Concurrence, to buy 19 food retail stores operating under the Auchan Supermarché brand.
The acquisition was formally notified to the Autorité de la Concurrence on 20 August 2025.
"Lidl GB expands surplus food collections to 200 stores" was originally created and published by Retail Insight Network, a GlobalData owned brand.