'Speed dating for trucks' saves money for food charity

The food distribution charity Felix spent £5.6m last year collecting surplus produce, and getting it to the community organisations it supports.

Richard Smith, director of food innovation at Felix, said: "These are costs we cannot cut. Without our logistics, this food would never reach the millions who need it most."

But a new platform dubbed "speed dating for trucks" has been launched to reduce those costs.

Using AI technology to bring together logistics providers, retailers and manufacturers, it matches spare haulage capacity with surplus food collections.

Early trials of the new software and system have already saved the charity money.

Smith added: "The benefits are all there - real and instant."

Deliveries of surplus food arrive all day at the Felix depot and kitchen in Poplar, east London.

It is sorted in the warehouse and redistributed to charities across London working to ease food poverty.

Until now, the administration has fallen to the logistics team at Felix (formerly the Felix Project), which books a haulier and pays for the transportation.

The costs soon add up.

Nicola Robinson, director of Alliance Food Sourcing (AFS) - a coalition of leading food companies - said: "Felix spent in 2025, £5.6m on 80,000 pallets, and three quarters of that cost was coming from third-party logistics companies.

"We thought we could take a look at that and if we tap into the spare capacity that we know exists within UK road hauliers, then we could put that to good use."

According to the Department for Transport, about 30% of all HGV journeys have spare capacity.

Using AI technology, the platform matches that space in lorries with deliveries to the Felix depots - hence the speed dating nickname.

Early trials with the food producer Greencore have led to a twice-weekly delivery of milk going to the Felix depot.

That route alone is projected to save the charity £20,000 a year.

Smith said: "The milk comes in every single week with very light touch from Felix, so we're barely getting involved.

"Now this is just a locked-in route, it happens every single week - that milk lands here and is back out to charities within 24 hours."

Currently, Greencore offers the service free of charge.

Darren Binns, head of logistics at Greencore, said: "There is an element of cost here but we think that we can absorb that cost, use the extra space that we have to do the right thing, to move surplus food into Felix's charity network."

Sainsbury's and logistics provider GXO have identified a further 10 routes for moving Felix food, with estimated annual savings of around £170,000.

Tesco, M&S and supply chain company Gist are also involved in the project, offering free consultancy and logistics support.

Data from the Trust for London showed that food insecurity has risen by 23% in London over the past two years.

Alongside the rise in need, transportation costs have gone up, and this is at a time when our changing climate sees demands that we reduce carbon emissions.

If the new platform is upscaled, AFS said it could save Felix £1m a year, as well as reduce road miles.

It said it would transform the way different sectors work, and urged more in the food industry to support the project.