Can I refuse to collect food if there is too much/ poor quality/ against my beliefs
How much food can I expect to pick up at my collection?
Different stores have such different factors influencing their sales that in short, it depends! As a Food Waste Hero you will be collecting all unsold surplus food, so the amount you collect will vary day by day.
Do I have to collect all the food offered during my collection?
No! We understand that collection sizes can vary from very small, to unmanageably large. You should never feel pressured to take home more food than you can safely store & distribute from a collection even if it means having to leave some food behind at the store.
Can I refuse products based on my religious beliefs or dietary requirements?
No. We have a lot of volunteers willing to collect all food types and refusing a type of food could result in missing a collection. We will try to support volunteers who are vegan, halal or have allergens but we cannot predict the types of food you will be asked to collect. We will remove collection slots if you are refusing certain types of food and we recommend that you look for collection slots where such food won't be available. Eg. a vegan store, halal supermarket, or gluten-free bakery. If you can't find one of these slots, then why not approach a local business?
Can I refuse past use-by date/poor quality food at my collection?
Yes! We always say to only share food on OLIO that you would be happy to eat yourself. If you would not be happy to consume the food that a store offers you, then you are completely within your right to refuse it.
If this happens, please fill out a FWH Issue Report by tapping ''Report an Issue'' in My Collection Slots on theVolunteer Hub - so that we can get in touch with the store to sort it out.
The food collection sizes are unequal throughout the week. Can you ask the business to split up the food more fairly?
Food is given away as and when it comes to the end of the best before or the use by date. Therefore, we cannot ask the business to distribute equally throughout the week and we can never fully guarantee the sizes of the collections.