Shoppers can make some big savings
(Image: Manchester Family / MEN)
Ask any parent about the school holidays and they’ll tell you there are never enough snacks.
It doesn’t matter how many times families visit the supermarket, those kids will eat you out of house and home.
While crisps, sweets and biscuits might be their go-to, it can feel like a battle to get them to eat more fruit and veg – and families don’t want to waste money on something they’re not sure will get eaten.
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But there is a way to get a whole load of fruit and veg for just £2 and that’s by picking up one of Lidl’s Too Good To Waste boxes.
Each one contains around 5kg of fruit and veg and the best time to find them is first thing, where they’re usually placed near the tills at the front of the store.
I picked one up this week and was pretty impressed with the contents.
Inside my box I got a full pack of red seedless grapes, a pack of flat peaches, some red onions, a bag of carrots, tomatoes and an orange.
Most of it was in great condition with plenty of life left. The carrots were a little brown in places but fine for peeling and cutting up for carrot sticks.
The flat peaches alone would typically cost £2.39 a pack, or £1.79 with the Lidl Plus app, so I already had my money’s worth with those. And I’d usually buy some grapes anyway, which cost £1.89, or £1.49 with the app, as well as the carrots.
Most supermarkets now have some sort of scheme for reducing food waste and it’s usually a case of being in the right place at the right time to bag a bargain.
The content of boxes varies so you can pick one that suits you, but you can’t swap products about.
Lidl first launched them in 2019 in a bid to reduce food waste by selling wonky or imperfect fruit or veg, or stuff that’s nearing the end of its shelf life, rather than throwing it in the bin.
The boxes are just one way that the retailer is cutting down on food waste. Having successfully exceeded its original target to reduce food waste by 40% by the end of its last financial year – up to end of February 2026 – it has now set a new target to reduce food waste by 70% by the end of the 2030 financial year.
It says its new Surplus Saviours trial with Neighbourly in the Midlands will help it redistribute even more food to those in need. The redistribution scheme enables registered individuals – including charity volunteers and customers – to collect unsold surplus food.
With extended collection times and access to fresh and chilled items approaching their use‑by date later in the evening, the trial is expected to redistribute more than 5,000 tonnes of food to those in need.
In addition to community redistribution, Lidl has also launched a new animal feed trial in the Peterborough region – diverting inedible fresh bakery lines, including everything from croissants to bread loaves, to create animal feed.
Matt Juden-Bloomfield, head of sustainability at Lidl GB, said: “At Lidl, we set ambitious targets that challenge how we operate and inspire innovation when it comes to food waste. We’ve made good strides, but we know we can do more.
“With that in mind, we have increased our targets to ensure we remain accountable and also introduced some exciting new trials to take things to the next level.
“We remain committed to accelerating our progress in this space and collaborating closely with our industry peers to drive lasting impact for both the environment and the communities we are at the heart of.”
