Prevent food waste with OLIO, the food sharing app

Have you ever thought how great it would be if there was a food version of Freecycle?

You’re in luck!

A sharing app called OLIO encourages retailers and people to share any extra food they have lying around. The food you don’t need in your fridges or cupboards can go to people in your local area, so less of it gets wasted.

Best of all, a lot of the items listed are free, so you could turn up some real bargains if you’re looking to request items rather than offer them.

Here’s what you need to know about OLIO!

What is OLIO?

OLIO is a free mobile app that connects communities with each other and with local shops that have extra food available.

How does OLIO work?

The basic idea behind OLIO is all about cutting down on wasted food (and other items).

It’s designed to enable food items to be shared rather than thrown away if they’re surplus to your own personal requirements, but other people could still make use of them.

This can be useful in quite a few situations if you have surplus food that would otherwise be binned.

A good example is if you grow your own veggies. If you’ve produced far too many to realistically use for yourself or if you’re going away and don’t want to leave things in your fridge, then the app can come in handy.

Using an app like OLIO could be the difference between them finding a good home or just being thrown away.

On top of individuals giving away food, supermarkets such as Asda and Tesco give away their surplus food to Food Waste Heros (volunteers locally), who share the food to their local communities.

On the flip side, it’s another option for savvy money savers to check what’s up for grabs in your area and request items you might otherwise not be able to afford to get.

What can be listed on OLIO?

There aren’t many rules, but the main one is key: any food listed needs to be in date (not past the use-by date) and still in suitable shape for eating.

OLIO suggests that you go on the basis of whether you’d consider it fit for consumption, even if you don’t personally have any need for it. If the answer is no, don’t list it!

• Check out Approved Food for discount food buys

Lots of non-food items can also be listed, but always be careful when it comes to things like alcohol and other “controlled substances” that you don’t have a license to sell. If you do want to offload alcohol, it’ll have to be a free listing.

What does OLIO mean for me?

Giving away food

The obvious way to use OLIO is to list items that you don’t have any use for but could still be good for other people.

This is really easy to do.

You just need to take a photo of the item and add a description of it, so people will know what they’re getting.

Most listings are free, but you can list items for a donation to charity instead if you prefer.

Getting free food

For those of us who are always on the lookout for ways to save a bit of money, you can also browse the listings to see what other people are giving away for free or for a small fee.

An alternative to OLIO is to use a free community fridge in your local area. Essentially, it’s the same concept as the app, although you won’t know what’s in the fridge until you arrive.

You can see everything that’s been added to OLIO through their app. Bear in mind that a lot of things may well be gone if you’re not on the ball!

If you see something you want, you can request it. When you’re accepted, you can contact us to arrange to pick it up.

Next time you’ve got some food that you’d normally throw away, why not list it on OLIO and let someone else get some use from it?

It will help to cut down on the amount of food that’s wasted every year. That’s got to give you a bit of a warm, fuzzy feeling, right? And if you’re lucky, you’ll pick up some gems that other people would have chucked out.

If you like this app, be sure to take a look at Too Good To Waste as well. Loads of different cafes and restaurants offer magic bags with food close to its use by. Morrisons also offer a food box via the app.

Come and join thousands of other savvy shoppers in the Reduce Your Supermarket Spend Facebook community to find out tips and tricks to save money on your food shop.