Supermarket Tesco Ireland has launched a campaign, aimed at producing no food waste by 2020.

The Community Chill provides funding for food-related good causes to buy fridges and freezers so they can receive more surplus food donations to help people in need.

The retailer says it aims to overcome one of the obstacles to local good causes taking more surplus food, which is their lack of storage facilities.

It has announced a commitment that no surplus food that is suitable for human consumption will go to waste in its stores within the next three years.

Last week, Tesco published its food waste data, which the company says will provide the insight to help the company meet this target and support its food waste reduction agenda.

Over four million meals of surplus food have been donated to more than 260 community groups across Ireland since 2014.

Speaking about the initiative, Tesco Ireland CEO Andrew Yaxley, said: "At Tesco we believe that it's simply not right that perfectly good surplus food should go to waste when there are people in our local communities who need it.

"That's why we've set an ambitious target that no food that is suitable for human consumption will go to waste in our stores in Ireland by 2020.

"Working in partnership with over 260 charitable groups around the country and listening to their feedback we have identified that the charitable sector need a helping hand to increase their storage facilities so they can redistribute even more surplus food to those in need.

"So to support, we're launching a new initiative to donate brand new fridges and freezers to groups who currently collect surplus food donations from us, or who want to sign up to take part."

Charitable groups can apply to receive a fridge or freezer from a selection of refrigeration equipment that best suits their needs.

The initiative is part of a strategy which aims to minimise food waste and increase surplus food donations at its stores nationwide.