By Dr Shantanu Mullick, the Centre for Business in Society at Coventry University

Would you line up at a supermarket late at night for free groceries? That scenario may soon become reality in the UK. In a new trial, Tesco will give away expiring food to customers for free after 9:30 pm each day.[i]​ The giveaway will apply to already-discounted “yellow sticker” items that have not sold by the end of the day. It’s an unconventional step aimed at tackling a very conventional problem: food waste.

A Global Food Waste Problem with Local Consequences

Mountains of edible food end up in the bin. Globally, about one-third of all food produced for humans is lost or wasted – roughly 1.3 billion tonnes every year.[ii] This waste isn’t just a moral or economic issue; it’s an environmental one. Rotting food in landfills releases methane, a potent greenhouse gas, and overall food waste is estimated to account for about 8–10% of global greenhouse gas emissions​.[iii] In other words, if food waste were a country, it would be among the top greenhouse gas emitters. All the land, water, and energy used to produce that wasted food are essentially squandered, contributing to climate change for no benefit.

The UK is no exception. In 2023 the UK produced around 10 million tonnes of food waste[iv] – an enormous amount for a single island nation. The majority of that waste comes from households, but supermarkets and the supply chain are part of the picture, too. Paradoxically, this waste coexists with hunger in our communities. In the UK, over 7 million people (about 11% of the population) struggled to afford basic meals in the past year. With the costs of living rising – grocery prices climbing and more families turning to food banks – the social stakes of food waste are high. Every loaf or bag of salad thrown away is a missed chance to feed someone in need, as well as a pointless waste of resources.

Why do we waste so much? The reasons range from overly cautious date labels to bulk buying habits and cosmetic standards for produce. Many consumers aren’t even aware of how much they personally contribute to the problem. I’ve found that people tend to underestimate the amount of food they waste​.[v] It’s easy to overlook those wilted vegetables or last week’s leftovers in the fridge, but they add up. This gap in awareness means education and behavioural nudges are key alongside any big retail initiatives. The scale of the issue is clear: tackling food waste has become an environmental and humanitarian imperative.

From Markdowns to Donations: How Supermarkets Fight Food Waste

Supermarkets, which stand at the intersection between producers and consumers, have been developing a toolkit of strategies to curb waste. In fact, all major UK grocery chains have pledged to halve their food waste in the coming years, in line with UN goals. Here are some of the key solutions being used or trialled to address supermarket food waste:

• Steep markdowns and dynamic pricing: Walk into any supermarket in the evening and you’ll see items with bright yellow discount stickers. This traditional approach – marking down prices as products near their use-by date – is meant to encourage shoppers to buy them before it’s too late. Some retailers are now taking this further with dynamic pricing technology that automatically drops prices on perishables as the day goes on. Early studies suggest that such dynamic pricing could cut food waste by around 20%​.[vi] I examined supermarkets’ use of digital platforms that broadcast last-minute discounts on near-expiry items.[vii] We found that these apps can effectively draw in more shoppers to “rescue” perfectly good food before it goes in the bin.
• Donating unsold food: Nearly all big UK supermarkets have programmes to donate surplus food to charities and food banks​. Instead of throwing out excess bread or crates of produce, stores partner with organizations that redistribute the food to homeless shelters, soup kitchens, and families in need. Tesco has long worked with charities to ensure that expiring items go to people, not landfill.[viii] Donations are a win-win: they reduce waste and help fight hunger. However, not all food can be donated (items past a strict use-by date or damaged packaging may still end up discarded).
• Rethinking date labels: There’s a growing recognition that confusing date labels contribute to unnecessary waste. Many foods come with a “best-before” date that is about quality, not safety – the product is often fine to eat after this date, but consumers mistakenly treat it as a hard deadline and throw the item out. To combat this, some supermarkets have started removing best-before dates on certain fresh foods like produce, encouraging customers to use their judgment (if it looks fine, it probably is). We have tested what happens if you remove “best-before” dates from products​.[ix] We found that removal of best-before dates does not have an impact on consumer purchases, implying that supermarkets can adopt this initiative without fear of consumer backlash. Our findings also suggest that removing labels can keep good food from being thrown away prematurely. It’s a subtle nudge that could have a big impact if adopted widely.
• Meal planning and meal kits: Another piece of the puzzle happens once groceries are taken home. Meal kit services (those delivered boxes with pre-portioned ingredients) have touted reduction in home waste as a selling point. Research backs this up – households that cook with meal kits waste substantially less food (in one study, about 38% less waste) compared to cooking with store-bought ingredients.[x] Better meal planning, whether through kits or apps or simply shopping guidance, can mean less surplus ending up in the trash later.

No single fix will solve the waste problem on its own, but each one chips away at it from a different angle.

Tesco’s 9:30 PM Free Food Initiative – A Game Changer?

Tesco’s latest announcement takes the fight against waste a step further. The supermarket will make any remaining yellow-stickered items completely free after 9:30 pm in selected Tesco Express stores​. Importantly, these near-expiry foods will still be offered to charities and staff first, and only then to customers as the store is closing. In essence, Tesco is saying: we’ve marked it down, we’ve tried to donate it – and if it still hasn’t gone by closing time, anyone who wants it can just take it. It appears to be the first policy of its kind among major UK supermarkets, as competitors until now have stuck to heavy discounts or charity donations, but not direct free giveaways to the public.[xi]

For Tesco, which operates over 3,700 stores in the UK, this trial is part of a broader pledge to cut its food waste in half by 2025. With pressure mounting to meet sustainability targets, the free food scheme is a bold attempt to bridge the gap. If successful, it could prevent still-edible food from being thrown out at the end of each day and instead put it in the hands of customers who can use it. That’s not just good PR – it directly benefits families’ budgets and the planet.

Beyond Tesco

The significance goes beyond Tesco. Food waste has long been an open secret in retail, and seeing Britain’s biggest grocer openly give food away marks a shift in attitudes. It implicitly acknowledges that zero-price is sometimes better than letting food become garbage. This could set a precedent: if Tesco’s trial proves that giving away expiring goods is logistically feasible and socially beneficial, other supermarkets may follow suit.

Beyond the environmental impact, there’s a human impact. When millions are skipping meals in a wealthy country like the UK​, any initiative that directs surplus food to stomachs rather than bins is significant. Tesco’s evening food giveaway could provide an extra boost to those struggling with food insecurity – a free dinner or two that might otherwise have cost more than they could spare. As an added benefit, it might also raise awareness about food waste among shoppers. Seeing a shelf of free items labelled for today only drives home the point that perfectly good food is hours away from spoiling and being discarded. It’s a tangible reminder of the waste problem, right at the point of purchase.

Tesco is starting this as a limited trial at a small number of Tesco Express convenience stores, so the full rollout and impact remain to be seen​.[xii] Logistically, stores will need to manage crowds and ensure fairness (imagine a rush for free food at closing time). If the trial goes well, Tesco will likely expand it, and it could become a regular feature of late-night shopping. In an ideal scenario, we’d reach a point where very little food is left unsold by day’s end because smarter stocking, dynamic pricing, and donations have taken care of most of it – but whenever there is a remainder, customers know they can swing by and help save it from the bin.

Tesco’s free food experiment is a noteworthy step in the right direction. It addresses food waste and food insecurity in one sweep – a real-world example of the circular economy ethos, “waste not, want not”. Solving food waste will require many such creative solutions, from high-tech innovations to common-sense changes in store policy. If grabbing a free loaf or salad at 9:30 pm becomes the new normal, that’s a cultural shift that benefits everyone. And perhaps one day, we’ll look back and wonder why we ever tolerated tossing so much good food away. Tesco’s initiative shows that with a bit of ingenuity and willingness, supermarkets can be part of the solution to one of the food system’s most pressing problems.

It’s food for thought – and now, at least on some nights, food for free.

---

[i] BBC 2025: Tesco to trial giving away expiring food to shoppers. Accessed at: https://feeds.bbci.co.uk/news/articles/c2er1m2rlr4o#:~:text=Tesco%20is%20to%20begin%20a,tries%20to%20cut%20food%20waste.

[ii] World Economic Forum 2024. A surprising solution for reducing our food waste. Accessed at: https://www.weforum.org/stories/2024/05/food-waste-reduction-solution/#:~:text=,be%20seen%20six%20months%20later.

[iii] United Nations Climate Change 2024. Food loss and waste account for 8-10% of annual global greenhouse gas emissions; cost USD 1 trillion annually. Accessed at: https://unfccc.int/news/food-loss-and-waste-account-for-8-10-of-annual-global-greenhouse-gas-emissions-cost-usd-1-trillion#:~:text=Food%20loss%20and%20waste%20account,of%20the%20world%E2%80%99s%20agricultural%20land.

[iv] WRAP 2023. UK Food Waste & Food Surplus – Key Facts. Accessed at: https://www.wrap.ngo/sites/default/files/2023-11/WRAP-Food-Surplus-and-Waste-in-the-UK-Key-Facts-Nov-2023.pdf.

[v] Mullick, Shantanu, van Herpen, Erica, Quested, Tom, Reynolds, Christian and Kok, Alynda (2023). “More than they thought? Consumers’ underestimation of their food waste.” Proceedings of the European Marketing Academy, 52nd. Part of special session titled Food Sustainability: Food Waste and Sustainable Diets. Accessed at: https://pure.coventry.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/104052633/EMAC_2023.pdf.

[vi] Sanders, Robert Evan. “Dynamic pricing and organic waste bans: A study of grocery retailers’ incentives to reduce food waste.” Marketing Science 43.2 (2024): 289-316.

[vii] Mullick, Shantanu, et al. “Reducing food waste through digital platforms: A quantification of cross-side network effects.” Industrial Marketing Management 93 (2021): 533-544.

[viii] EasternEye 2025. Tesco plans to give away expiring food in waste reduction trial. Accessed at https://www.easterneye.biz/tesco-expiring-food-giveaway-waste-reduction-trial/#:~:text=Tesco%E2%80%99s%20latest%20move%20comes%20as,layer%20to%20its%20sustainability%20efforts.

[ix] Iman, Mohammad, Mullick, Shantanu, van Herpen, Erica and Dibb, Sally (2024). “Date Debate: How Removing ‘Best-Before’ Date Labels affects Consumer Purchase Behavior.” Proceedings of the European Marketing Academy, 53rd, (118299). Part of special session titled Moving towards a food-waste free world: Combining different approaches to reduce food waste. Accessed at: https://proceedings.emac-online.org/pdfs/A2024-118299.pdf#:~:text=Quasi,De%C2%A0Hooge%C2%A0and%C2%A0Van%C2%A0Trijp%C2%A0%28A%C2%A0mult.

[x] Schuster, Sebastian, et al. “Do meal boxes reduce food waste from households?.” Journal of Cleaner Production 375 (2022): 134001.

[xi] BBC 2025: Tesco to trial giving away expiring food to shoppers. Accessed at: https://feeds.bbci.co.uk/news/articles/c2er1m2rlr4o#:~:text=Tesco%20is%20to%20begin%20a,tries%20to%20cut%20food%20waste.

[xii] BBC 2025: Tesco to trial giving away expiring food to shoppers. Accessed at: https://feeds.bbci.co.uk/news/articles/c2er1m2rlr4o#:~:text=Tesco%20is%20to%20begin%20a,tries%20to%20cut%20food%20waste.

Comments

comments