Are you donating food waste to charity? Find out about FareShare

29 January 2020

Most food producers have to deal with surplus ingredients and product. What is often considered waste isn’t waste at all. So why not consider donating food waste to charity? Organisations such as FareShare offer an efficient and ethical solution. Here’s who they are and what they do.

What is FareShare?

FareShare is a charity that redistributes surplus fresh in-date food to charities such as homeless shelters, children’s breakfast clubs, lunch clubs for older people, domestic violence refuges and community cafés. They have regional centres in 21 regions across the UK while their FareShare Go service connects charities directly with food donations from their local supermarket. 250,000 tonnes of the food that goes to waste each year is still edible (source: FareShare)

FareShare logoFareShare has 25 years’ experience working with the food industry to get quality surplus onto the plates of vulnerable people. More than 500 companies across the supply chain are donating food waste to charity. From farmers to hauliers and hospitality chains, to most of the major supermarkets (Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury’s, for example), and big brands such as Greggs, Kellogg’s and Birds Eye to small, independent producers.

The difference donating food waste to charity can make

Last year FareShare saved the charity sector £33.7m by managing 20,838 tonnes of food, enough for a whopping 46.5 million meals.

  • They support 10,943 charities and reach 924,325 people in need
  • Charities estimate it would cost them an average £7,900 a year to replace the food they get from FareShare
  • 77% say FareShare food has improved the diet of their service users
  • 82% of services users said that eating a meal at the charity makes them feel part of the community
  • 53% of service users say their physical strength has improved and 52% say their energy levels are up

It’s clearly about more than meals as the organisations that FareShare supports provide life-changing support in addition to sustenance. On a larger scale, by collecting food that would otherwise go to waste and redistributing it to good causes, FareShare estimates it saves the UK economy approximately £51 million every year.

Why work with FareShare?

We’ve worked with FareShare on a number of occasions and our clients tell us it’s a great way to ensure that surplus ingredients such as tests, prototypes, samples and/or end-products aren’t wasted. It can also help them meet their sustainability goals and any commitments under the WRAP/IGD Food Waste Reduction Roadmap to reduce food waste.

It may also help you take targeted action to reduce waste in your own operation and supply chain. What’s more, it can help engage customers and staff alike and serve your local community.

FareShare promise to support food companies to identify edible surplus food and then safely divert it through their UK-wide network. You may also be eligible for FareShare’s Surplus with Purpose Fund which can cover any additional costs associated with redistributing food.

What you can do to get involved

If you would like to deliver measurable social impact by donating your food waster to charity, give FareShare a call on 020 7064 8911 or you can fill out their form and a member of their team will contact you.

Are you donating food waste to charity?