Kashav Sehra, one of Olio’s brilliant Food Waste Heroes , shares his reasons and motivations for rescuing surplus food from his local Tesco
Kashav Sehra started out on Olio by picking up the free odd item being shared by his neighbours, but it didn’t take long before he got more involved. Now a Food Waste Hero volunteer and a Squad Captain*, he collects food from Tesco Quinton every Thursday, helping make sure good spare food gets shared with people who’ll really appreciate it.
*A Squad Captain is a lead volunteer at a certain store, who oversees all the volunteers who collect from that location.
Helping others and giving back where he can
Each week, he’s greeted with a smile by the Tesco team and loads up three or four crates of fruit, veg, bakery items and more. After sharing through the Olio app, sometimes there’s extras — like a boot full of bread. Instead of keeping that for himself, Kashav takes it straight to local churches, or the temple kitchen nearby, where it goes towards making meals for those who need them.
Kashav’s always believed in helping others. For him, volunteering is about karma, and giving back where you can. “This is just how I live,” he says. “It feels good to help.”
“I want my daughter to grow up knowing it’s normal to help others”
One of the things he’s most proud of is setting an example for his daughter. She’s just nine, but already joins him on collections sometimes—and even shares baked treats with her teachers. “I want her to grow up knowing it’s normal to help others,” he says.
Kashav has seen first-hand how much this food matters – whether that’s through Olio collectors like Thomas, who walks across town to collect food for his housemates, or the handful of local families who rely on Olio week after week.
Tesco’s donations, shared through Olio, are making a real difference. And Kashav’s right there in the middle of it.
Want to find out more?
Whether you’re ready to get started as a volunteer, or you’re a business with surplus food to share, we’d love to hear from you👇