Food charity launches store on Taobao selling everything for less than a cent

The store offers surplus food nearing its sell-by date to poor customers.

A food store opened by Shanghai-based charity Green Oasis has launched in Taobao online marketplace to sell everything for just RMB0.01 or just less than a cent, Alibaba Group announced in a news release.

The store offers surplus food close to its sell-by date to those in need. For instance, consumers can order an RMB0.01 pack of rice due to expire in December and have it delivered to their homes for free.

To ensure the goods are going to underserved communities and those who need them the most, the store asks shoppers to provide government-issued documents as proof of their disabilities or low-income status and limits each user to buying just one of each item a day.

Taobao and Tmall merchants can also donate surplus food to Green Oasis. Through each site’s backend, merchants have the option to “donate” their products, which will then appear on the shelves of the food bank.

Consumers can also have their money returned once the transaction completes.

Before opening the store, Green Oasis mainly redistributed donated food through its physical locations, including 304 not-for-profit partners, schools and communities across China. The charity expects its first online store to help it reach more people outside of this network.

The charity said it has “rescued” about 1,000 tons of surplus food from restaurants, grocers and food & beverage companies since launching in 2014. Nearly 1 million people from disadvantaged communities have benefited from the program, it said in a statement.