We will support, sponsor and invest in our communities to improve food security and nutrition.
Targets
- Support key charity partners to tackle food insecurity.
- Sponsor projects that deliver on food waste prevention and awareness as well as school food education and nutrition.
- Invest in innovation and research to deliver industry-leading trials for the benefit of people and planet.
Our approach
We tackle these issues using our platform, resources, expertise, and partnerships, and through collaboration with community groups, charities and social enterprises.
Alongside our two key charity partners, Community Shop and The Felix Project, we support a network of charities across the UK like Magic Breakfast, Dens and Edible Links. Through Zoom by Ocado, we enable customers to donate breakfasts and provide vouchers for purchasing fresh food to supplement donations to a local school.
Our partnerships
We partnered with School Food Matters, a charity that teaches children about food from farm to fork. School Food Matters also improves children’s access to healthy sustainable food while they are at school.
We contributed funding to the Young Marketeers and Nourish (formerly known as Healthy Zones) programmes.
Young Marketeers
Aims to teach primary school children about food production, gardening and selling produce at local markets while raising money for food waste and insecurity charities. Bringing the farm life to the classroom is the first time for many children to connect seeds and growing with the food that they eat every day.
In 2024, the children raised £2,800 for local food charities selling a broad range of produce. Through our funding, the programme has expanded into Birmingham, Leeds and Leicester. Over 4,300 children were reached indirectly through assemblies, and 855 children directly in food education sessions, with significant positive outcomes in new skills, confidence and well-being.
“It’s rare to find a partner that genuinely understands why school food and food education matters, and that continues to donate confidently, knowing that investing in children’s health is an investment worth making.” Stephanie Slater, Founder and Chief Executive, School Food Matters.
Nourish
Aims to improve school food environments and policies in London schools to address health inequalities. In 2023, Nourish successfully launched new packed lunch policies and parent sessions in several London schools, aiming to create healthier school food environments and policies.
Both programmes have shown positive impacts on children’s skills and well-being, as well as empowering schools to make lasting changes to their food initiatives, illustrating why these programmes and their work are so vital to ensuring food security and a healthy, sustainable food system for the next generation.
Partnering with leading food charities
The Felix Project
Since 2019, we have partnered with The Felix Project, a London-based charity that rescues and transforms surplus food into nourishing meals for over 1,200 community organisations, ranging from food banks and primary schools to homeless shelters.
In 2024, The Felix Project redistributed the equivalent of 38 million meals to over 1,200 community organisations and schools. Since our partnership began, Ocado has contributed more than four million meals of these meals.
In 2024, we contributed over two million meals, the equivalent of 853 tonnes of food, making it the charity’s most impactful year yet.
The support The Felix Project receives from Ocado is phenomenal. They not only give us high quality food, that we give directly to around 1,000 community groups and schools across London. Their staff are amazing volunteers and they give us fantastic financial support which means we can be there to feed the ever-growing numbers of people struggling with food insecurity and poverty.”
Charlotte Hill, OBE , CEO The Felix Project
Community Shop
Through Community Shop, we provide local communities across the country with access to affordable, high-quality surplus food and household products, along with life-changing personal development support. We have funded five new shops around the country that provide access to affordable, high-quality surplus food and household products, along with life-changing personal development support.
We continue to support the Community Shop Family Cook Clubs which teach cooking skills and promote food education. 13,897 people participated in 2024 and the Cook Clubs are now active in all 13 stores across the network.
Additionally, we continue to partner with M&S at Christmas to provide meal bundles to Community Shops, helping over 10,000 people in the most deprived communities to enjoy Christmas at home.
Community Shop offers a powerful combination of access to deeply discounted food and life-changing learning and development programmes, and thanks to the ongoing support of Ocado Retail we’ve been able to open five new Community Shops and support thousands more people.”
Gary Stott, Executive Chairman of Community Shop.
Volunteering and colleague fundraising
Our ‘Donate a day’ initiative grants colleagues an extra day of annual leave to step away from their desks and spend time volunteering with one of our charity partners like The Felix Project.
As part of our partnership with the Soil Association colleagues can now donate a day at Woodoaks Farm to connect with nature and learn more about regenerative agriculture and farming.
We also support our colleague fundraising by matching their funds raised, up to £500, every year. If they are fundraising as a team (two or more Ocado Retail employees) in their own time we match up to £1,000.
£3.7 million donated to charity partners and environmental causes in 2024.
£12.8 million in surplus stock to charity partners, with £2.8 million contributed by our customers.
3,000 meals supplied through Community Shop’s Christmas Meals 2024 campaign.
13,897 people took part in the 2024 Community Shop Family Cook Clubs.
More than 4 million meals donated to The Felix Project since our partnership began.
Over 4,300 children inspired through School Food Matters’ Young Marketeers programme; and 855 gaining hands-on food education boosting skills, confidence, and well-being.
Explore further
Our Christmas Meals Food Redistribution Partnership with Community Shop
Ocado funded the Enfield Depot refurbishment at The Felix Project
Ocado donates over 73,380 meals to families in need at Christmas
Supporting School Food Matters