You can now help fight food waste with £3 LEON surplus bags

Food chain teams up with food surplus app to offer discounted food bags at the end of the day

LEON has announced a new partnership with food surplus app Too Good To Go in order to reduce food waste in its stores.

All 37 LEON stores across England are now signed up to the Too Good To Go app, which allows restaurants, cafes, pubs, grocery stores and producers to sell food at a discounted price at the end of the day to avoid it going into the bin.

The partnership follows a successful trial, in which more than 10,000 bags of surplus food from the restaurant chain have been rescued, saving more than 25,000kg of CO2e from being wasted.

The “Magic Bags” contain a variety of surplus food from LEON’s breakfast or all-day menu, and are available to buy through the app from £3.

Customers can download the Too Good To Go app and choose to either buy the “Breakfast Magic Bag” for £3 or the “All Day Magic Bag” for £3.75. Both bags contain food worth at least three times the value consumers pay through the app.

People can then collect the bag at the LEON restaurant they have ordered from in the evening.

Gemma Kearney, purchasing and supply chain director at LEON said the app allows customers to enjoy its food “knowing they’re doing good for the planet”.

She said: “LEON was founded on the basis of creating food that tastes good, does good, and is kind to the planet.

“We are delighted to partner with Too Good To Go on helping fight food waste whilst fulfilling our mission of helping even more people eat better and therefore live better.”

Paschalis Loucaides, UK managing director at Too Good To Go, added: “It’s great to see our partnership with LEON extend following our impressive early impact together.

“Food deserves to be eaten and our partnership means that Too Good To Go app users can rescue delicious LEON meals from both the Breakfast menu and All Day menu and ensure that food is not wasted unnecessarily.

“I’m excited to see how much more we can do together in the fight against food waste in the coming months and years.”

Last year, LEON announced it was the first business in the restaurant industry to sign up to all 14 commitments put forward by the Council for Sustainable Businesses.

The commitments “encourage businesses to do more” by reporting on and reducing their greenhouse gas emissions to create a sustainable future.

John Vincent, chief executive of LEON, is also the founding chair of the Council for Sustainable Businesses. He said: “Young people are asking what action companies and governments are taking to save life on our planet.

“As CEO of Leon and as the founding chair of the Council for Sustainable Businesses, I owe it to my daughters to answer this question. Business leaders can start by signing up to the CSB commitments. And by getting other leaders to do the same. And to do so soon.”