To leave a measurable positive impact on the communities we serve and source from and address food poverty by providing good food for all of us.
We believe that everyone should have access to, and benefit from, the joy of good food. We’ve been at the heart of food in the UK for over 150 years, serving communities every day with good food at affordable prices. But we know that for families who are most in need, accessing quality, nutritious food can be difficult. This needs to change. Which is why, together with our partners, we are working to make a real difference.
Our ambition
Our progress and highlights
£33.8 million
raised for good causes in 2024/25
605
local good causes supported through over £1 million of funding in 2024/2025
£21 million
donated to Comic Relief to help tackle food poverty since 2022
373%
more surplus food redistributed to communities versus our 2019/20 baseline
72%
of people using the food club services that we help to fund reported that they are skipping meals less frequently
Our areas of focus
Resolve immediate hunger
We work to provide nutritious food to people in their hardest moments, helping them to cope in the short term and access essential and immediate support, particularly during the winter months. We work with our longstanding charity partner, Comic Relief, to reach as many communities as possible and support people that are experiencing food poverty. Every year, we raise donations through customer campaigns, and then use this money to fund organisations that are focused on helping people to become more food secure. Organisations we’ve supported include FareShare, Trussell, City Harvest, Felix Project, His Church and Community Shop all to provide short term provisions of food to those that need it most immediately. Our customers can donate food products at the front of our stores and our colleagues support by organising the redistribution of any surplus food through our partnerships with Olio and Neighbourly to help as many local communities as possible access food.
Create more food secure communities
Across the UK, food clubs play a critical role in helping people access balanced and nutritional food, working to alleviate food poverty, reduce food waste, and build more resilient communities. Food clubs exist to support communities to become more food secure. They are often considered a more dignified solution to food banks, by giving people choice of a range of products and through paying a small membership fee. Through our Nourish the Nation programme with Comic Relief, we provide funding to numerous partners who run a variety of food-club models. Our investment in food clubs has allowed our partners to grow and expand their networks, helping to open at least 56 new clubs across the UK. Our stores also have access to community grants to support local good causes to help their communities become more food secure, for example, through funding cooking workshops or donating kitchen equipment.
Case study
Spicing up mealtimes with the Seasonings Shuttle
Research commissioned by Sainsbury's revealed that over half of those who struggle to pay their bills are no longer excited by food or mealtimes, so we launched the Seasonings Shuttle with Comic Relief, offering free herbs and spices to visitors of the mobile food clubs run by our partner The Bread and Butter Thing.
The initiative aimed to tackle meal monotony and ensure that food club users had access to good food, without having to compromise on taste. In May and August, the Seasonings Shuttle visited locations in Manchester and the North East of England, and visitors could choose from a range of dried or fresh ingredients to take home. After the launch in Manchester, 91 per cent of visitors reported the ingredients made their meals more enjoyable.
