FareShare UK

Today we are launching our manifesto ahead of the General Election, calling on the next Government to commit to delivering more surplus food to those in need. Titled “Where’s the Food? Strengthening Communities Through Surplus Food Redistribution”, the manifesto lays out measures to incentivise businesses to redistribute more of their surplus, proposals to support the redistribution sector and strengthen communities in the process, and a plan for a wider food system reset. We are calling for: 💚 Subsidies for farmers to cover redistribution costs 💚 Tax benefits for businesses donating surplus food 💚 Mandatory food waste reporting 💚 Clear guidelines for ‘good samaritans’ on food donation safety 💚 Sustained funding for farm level food redistribution 💚 A UK-wide plan to end charitable food aid 💚 Resources for local food waste and food security projects By working together, government, the third sector, and industry can overcome the challenges to redistributing surplus – and ensure more food reaches the people who need it. To read the full manifesto and show your support for it, please click here 👉 https://bit.ly/3U5AZWP

We are thrilled to share that comedian Matt Lucas is voicing FareShare’s BBC Radio 4 appeal. Tune in on Sunday at 7.53am and 9.26pm for a first listen and donate to help redistribute meals to people who need them across the UK. Just £20 can provide up to 100 meals of nutritious food for children and families facing food insecurity 💚

220 MILLION MEALS 📣 We are thrilled to announce that we have now redistributed the equivalent of a whopping 220 million meals’ worth of food thanks to our partnership with Tesco! Over the last twelve years, we’ve worked with Tesco to help redistribute surplus food from its stores and distribution centres to local charities and community groups across the UK. This amazing milestone is testament to everyone involved in our partnership. A HUGE thank you to all of the hardworking Tesco colleagues, dedicated volunteers and amazing organisations helping to ensure that food goes to people, not waste 💚

We are sending a massive thank you to Mitchells & Butlers PLC for their incredible support this summer.     Thank you so much for your amazing donation of cereals, juice, sandwich fillings and other picnic staples to FareShare Midlands, as part for our summer appeal to help us power the UK’s charities that rely on food to strengthen their local communities this summer. As well as this, their Shop and Share participation provided the equivalent of over 900 meals and they also facilitated an ambient food collection at their Retail Support Centre. Thank you so much to every colleague who got involved!    Their donation was kindly matched by their distributor Brakes UK and delivered to FareShare Midlands 💚 Thank you so much, Mitchells & Butlers PLC and Brakes UK! With food demand surging over the holidays, we are so grateful for your support this summer! Thank you to Lousie Cooper and Zhana Borisova at Mitchells & Butlers PLC for organizing everything

We are excited to share that the Rush Group has achieved an incredible milestone, the equivalent of 5 million meals of surplus food redistributed! 🎉 Our partnership began in 2019, and within the first 2 years of partnership they redistributed the equivalent of over 2 million meals 🤯 We are so grateful that the Rush Group work with us to maximise the fresh produce they grow and reduce the need to move surplus or off specification crops to landfill or animal feed. They are a 2024 FareShare Leading Partner, and send weekly volumes of surplus produce including potatoes, onions, butternut squash, and sweet potatoes. This produce then gets redistributed to charities and community groups that we support across the UK 🥔 Thank you so much to the Rush Group for your amazing partnership and support 💚

Come behind the scenes at FareShare Yorkshire where earlier this year we launched our Coronation Food Project collaboration with Arla Foods and Nestlé 💚 🥛 "The best thing about today is about the food supply chain working together. So Arla, Nestlé and FareShare all coming together to make sure food is redistributed where it's needed most." - Jonathan Dixon, Senior Vice President, sales at Arla Foods. 🥣 Andrew Shaw, Supply Chain Director for UK & Ireland at Nestlé, said: “We know just how important the first of meal of the day is, but in the current climate more and more people are starting the day with an empty stomach. That’s why we wanted to work with Arla and FareShare to provide breakfast to those who need it most. I’m proud that my colleagues have come together to produce this cereal to donate to FareShare and we hope this will make a difference to thousands of families across the UK. Thank you so much Arla Foods and Nestlé 💚 Watch the full video here 👉 https://bit.ly/4cAfaED

Recently we were delighted to join Tesco at their stall at The Royal Welsh Show! We had the opportunity to show visitors the process of surplus food coming to FareShare by using our VR headsets. Tesco had cooking demonstrations using Welsh produce such as lamb, leeks and potatoes. There were talks from farmers about their produce, the challenges they currently face and sustainability. There was even entertainment including shearing contents, live music, sports and lots of delicious Welsh food samples to try! Thank you so much Tesco for your incredible partnership, support, and for welcoming us to the event!

3 in 10 parents say their children are eating less fruit than they were last year, according to a new survey from FareShare run by YouGov. The survey results showed that a third of parents were buying less fresh fruit now than a year ago as the cost-of-living crisis continues to put pressure on household budgets.  A quarter of parents also said that their children would eat less fresh fruit during the summer holidays, at a time when families face additional costs for childcare and food while schools are closed.    Debbie Fixter, manager of Sprouts Community Food Charity in Teesside, which receives food from FareShare, said: “We often have people telling us that they would love to be able to buy the fruits the children like but just can’t afford it.”    With food demand surging over the holidays, this summer your support is crucial. By donating to FareShare, providing food, or volunteering with us, you are helping to create 'first tastes' for children and young people across the UK. Join us in powering the UK’s charities that rely on food to strengthen their local communities this summer, by donating, volunteering with us or providing food 👉 https://lnkd.in/eYCVgJRP 💚

During our recent visit to Greenyard Frozen, the team were thrilled to have the chance to try the delicious soups that we have produced in collaboration with Greenyard Frozen and WE CAN FOODS LIMITED as part of the FLEX Project. 🥫 After receiving an incredible 13 tonnes of different frozen vegetables from Greenyard, we sat down with Terry from We Can Foods to think about how to utilise this veg to get it to communities across the UK. At a similar time, we had an amazing delivery of chicken stock from Podpak and together we decided to create two chicken broth style soups! The first soup was a Vegetable and Chicken Broth which was bursting with a medley of diced carrot, swede, turnip, parsnip and peas. The second soup Chunky Vegetable and Chicken Broth used the larger whole vegetables namely Baby carrots, green beans, sweetcorn and edamame beans. 80,000 tins of these nutritious soups as being dispatched to our over 8,000 charities across the UK! The charities and community groups that we support have told us how much of a difference the soups make to the people they support, particularly as they do not require a full kitchen of equipment to prepare. 💚 Thank you Greenyard Frozen, WE CAN FOODS LIMITED, and Podpak for your incredible support and partnership. Find out more about the FLEX Project here: https://lnkd.in/ee6CGA7f

Yesterday, we were delighted to welcome the new Minister of State for Food Security and Rural Affairs, Daniel Zeichner to FareShare South West in Bristol to see the incredible work that they do to support communities across the West Country! 🍏 The government have made it very clear that they have a commitment to a zero waste Britain, which we are fully behind. They have a focus on reducing food poverty, tackling inequality, and improving sustainability, and we’re looking forward to joining them on that journey. Thank you so much to Minister Zeichner and the team at Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for visiting us! 💚