20 September 2022

Globally one third of food is wasted, which contributes approximately 8% of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions.This is something that James Whelan Butchers is very conscious of, with sustainable food production being part of this family business' DNA since it was founded in the 1960s.

 

Over the past few months, this award-winning butchers has been trialling an innovative food saving app, founded in Denmark, Too Good To Go. Launched with a mission to tackle global food waste, Too Good To Go lets businesses create Surprise Bags of unsold and surplus produce which are sold to consumers via the free Too Good To Go app at a third of the retail price.

 

Too Good To Go, which was named by TIME as one of the 100 Most Influential Companies in the World in 2022, is now one of the top 10 global food apps, with over 60 million registered users worldwide. In Ireland there are over 200,000 users who have already saved almost 400,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions since the platform was introduced in the past year.

 

James Whelan Butchers is the first Irish butcher to join this groundbreaking global community of producers, restaurants, and food lovers, who share the same passion to reduce global food waste. During the initial pilot scheme James Whelan Butchers has already saved the equivalent of five tonnes of CO2e emissions, the equivalent of 46 flights from Dublin to London.

 

Pat Whelan, CEO, James Whelan Butchers, said; “It breaks our heart to see good food go to waste, when it is still perfectly good to eat. Partnering with this innovative disruptor - Too Good To Go -  we are attacking food waste head on.  Every day we are saving significantly on food waste in each of our shops, something that we are proud of, as together with our customers and our friends in Too Good To Go, we can play our part in reducing CO2 emissions. Often it is with small changes we can make a big difference.”

 

Sophie Trueman, Managing Director for Too Good To Go UK & Ireland stated; “We’re delighted to be partnering with James Whelan to help save their quality produce from going to waste. We’ve already had amazing feedback from our users and are excited to see the continued impact our partnership can achieve in the coming weeks, months and years ahead. Reducing the amount of food we waste has never been more timely - saving delicious food from going to waste not only carries huge benefits for our planet, but it can also be a great help in coping with the rising food costs we’re experiencing at the moment."

 

Typically, the bags will contain a mixed selection of fresh butchery offerings including beef, poultry, lamb or pork as well as mains and sides from the James Whelan Butchers Dine at Home Collection.  These Surprise Bags are purchased through the app, and collected by the customer in their local James Whelan Butchers shop.

 

For more information on James Whelan Butchers visit www.jameswhelanbutchers.com and for more information on Too Good To Go visit www.toogoodtogo.ie.