Maxoptra Software Helps Felix Project Deliver Good Food for Good Causes

Maxoptra real-time scheduling, routing and delivery management software is helping a London-based charity reduce food waste and tackle food poverty.

Using Maxoptra, the Felix Project has been able to plan the collection of good quality, yet surplus, food from suppliers such as Amazon Food, Hello Fresh, Waitrose, Muller, Sainsbury and Fortnum and Mason. Once sorted by volunteers, at one of three depots, the food is delivered to charities, community groups and schools for reuse or redistribution.

With support from Maxoptra, The Felix Project has significantly expanded and now works with around 200 suppliers, delivering to 200 charities, providing food for nearly 3 million meals per year.

At the organisation’s newly opened Park Royal depot the operation has tripled in size with Maxoptra being used to plan schedules and routes for more than 450 collections and up to 750 deliveries a month.

“Maxoptra allows us to make the most of the resources we already have,” commented Mantas Keblis, Depot Manager at The Felix Project’s Park Royal site. “We have enough suppliers and supplies and we could deliver more food to more charities but we need volunteers and vehicles to do this.

“Using Maxoptra to intelligently schedule and route daily deliveries and collections we are maximising vehicle capacities, minimising travelling time and therefore mileage, and making the most of our invaluable volunteers,” he continued.

Using Maxoptra, The Felix Project can plan collections from suppliers taking into account when the surplus food will be ready, opening or access times and vehicle capacities. Once collected the food is taken back to the depot where it is checked and sorted according to food safety regulations and dietary restrictions.

Vans are then repacked and volunteers deliver the donated goods, following Maxoptra produced schedules, to local kitchens, community halls, schools and day centres. The Felix delivered food is then either turned into to nutritious meals and snacks or is made available for vulnerable people to take home.

1.9 million tonnes of avoidable food waste are generated by the UK food industry each year. At the same time food poverty is a huge and growing problem with almost 4 million children in the UK living in households that struggle to afford to buy enough fruit, vegetables, fish and other healthy foods.