Overview
- Tesco said all of the surplus bananas have been handed to local schools and community groups after the over-delivery in Kirkwall.
- Staff meant to order about 380kg but a clerical glitch placed an order for 380 wholesale boxes, totaling roughly 38,000 bananas.
- High winds that disrupted ferries over the weekend stopped a routine return to the Scottish mainland, so the store turned to local redistribution.
- Community champion Paula Clarke invited groups to collect free boxes, and Tesco arranged shipments to the outer isles to spread the stock.
- The haul dwarfed Kirkwall’s population and echoed past island misorders, underscoring how remote supply chains can magnify simple mistakes.