NHS, police and firefighters Can get up to 60% off supermarket food at 6 UK stores
Thousands of public sector workers, including paramedics and police officers, can get up to 60% off their supermarket shop thanks to a discount available at six UK stores.
NHS, police and fire service workers can get a decent reduction on their shop at Company Shop Group - a relatively unheard of retailer that buys excess food from supermarkets, and then sells it on at a discounted rate
The online supermarket stocks everything a range of goods including food, household goods pet products, beer and wine, seasonal and promotional items, garden items and much more, which they source from big name brands such as Aldi, Asda, Co-op, Iceland, Lidl, Ocado, M&S, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Tesco and Waitrose.
The anti-waste shop says its shelves are stocked with surplus products that may otherwise be going to waste - "so while you’re saving some pounds, you’re also saving the planet".
It does so by buying - and shifting - the stock that would otherwise end up in the bin.
The company state that in 2018, it handled 70 million items and redistributed 23,607 tonnes of surplus food.
This could be anything from food with a short shelf-life that's been oversupplied to products, damaged items, short dated and end of line products. They also have a range of items from overseas, and so you could find food items from all over the world as well as the UK products!
Some retailers donate the products without charging a price for it, and this helps the retailer to keep the prices as low as possible for their customers.
It's not available to everyone however, the goods are only available to people who work in the food manufacturing supply chain or in the emergency services or NHS can get the deals.
You can apply for membership if you're in one of the following groups:
Employees who work in the FMCG food supply chain NHS (including volunteers, students, GP Practices & NHS Dentists) Police Officers (including special Police Officers) Fire Service Staff
People in receipt of a qualifying pension from the groups above, are also eligible.
Currently there are only six stores, all of which are in the north of England; Corby, Grimsby, Middleton, St Helens, Washington, and Wentworth, so it's very regional at the moment. -
To use it, you'll need to complete an application form on the Company Shop Group website and upload two recent payslips as proof of eligibility.
It is completely free to sign up and, once approved, shoppers are issued with a membership card that they show in-store.
And it's not the only way to save either.
If you work for the NHS, you can apply for a staff card that will give you 10% off days out, restaurants and more around the country. It's free - and even includes Eurocamp holidays.
The service is designed to assist those people who work in the public help sectors that are notoriously under paid, and the service assists by helping to keep these peoples costs as low as a possible, so they can continue to do the work, we as the public, rely on, and need so greatly, without the workers struggling to keep their heads above water!
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