We’ve all cringed as we drop perfectly edible food into the bin. Perhaps you’ve been clearing out your fridge before a holiday, making space for new groceries, or maybe you just admitted that you were never going to get through all that fresh veg before it goes off at the end of the week.
OLIO is a new, free app trying to reduce food waste by making sure users have another option for offloading their unwanted food. The app connects neighbours with each other and with local grocery shops to exchange, or sell, surplus food.
Users can list their items or browse what’s currently available in their selected area, using a simple messaging system to arrange when and where to meet and collect.
The idea for OLIO arose when co-founder Tessa Cook was preparing to move to a new country and couldn’t bear to throw away her extra food. Tessa teamed up with long-time friend and keen freecycler Saasha Celestial-One to tackle the food waste problem for the masses.
Saasha Celestial-One said:
“Since we launched last week it has been such a thrill to see people and shops use our platform to exchange their surplus food. Our focus now is on driving engagement so OLIO becomes an integral part of our users’ lives, and surplus food never comes face to face with the bin again.”
OLIO is currently being tested in North London but will be expanding across the country soon.
Visit olioex.com to sign up to be notified when OLIO launches near you.
