Housewares Business-to-business magazine for housewares retailers and their suppliers
Tesco will give its unsold Valentine’s Day flowers and bouquets away to good causes this year ‘to make sure not a single stem goes to waste’.
The supermarket chain said: ‘Despite high demand for bouquets in the run-up to Valentine’s Day, some stems and bunches will inevitably remain unsold despite being reduced, and could be thrown away.
‘This year though, we will work with food redistribution charity FareShare to make sure any unsold blooms get to people and groups who will enjoy them.’
Tesco already works with the charity on its surplus food programme, Community Food Connection, which links local charities and community groups to its stores.
Following Valentine’s Day, FareShare volunteers will visit Tesco stores to collect the flowers and deliver them to some of the 7,000 charities and community groups that FareShare works with. Even if the flowers are slightly past their sell by date, they will last for five more days.
Tesco head florist Michelle Buck said: “No-one wants to see these beautiful flowers go to waste, so we’re delighted that this year we’re going to find them deserving homes. We already work with FareShare to redistribute surplus food so it was the natural thing to do to work with them to give some Valentine’s joy to those who deserve it most.”
FareShare chief executive Lindsay Boswell commented: “The meals that charities make with surplus food from Tesco support thousands of vulnerable people, many of whom are struggling with food poverty, illness or loneliness.
“Flowers always lift us up, and these Tesco blooms will brighten up the tables of many charities – and bring smiles to the faces of people enjoying what might be their only hot meal of the day.”
