Food waste is a contentious issue that’s getting a lot of media attention. As businesses and consumers are forced to tighten their belts the three million tonnes of food WRAP estimates is wasted in the supply chain seems even more outrageous as hardship and hunger continue to bite.
At FareShare food waste is our bread and butter. Surplus food from across the supply chain arrives at the doors of our 17 depots for our volunteers to sort, pick and deliver to a network of 700 local charities and community organisations who use it to feed hungry people in our communities. This food is short-dated, incorrectly packaged or there has simply been too much produced. It’s all safe and good to eat. We’ve been doing this since 1994 and can count major retailers and manufacturers such as Sainsbury’s, Nestlé and Brakes among our closest supporters.
Last year we rescued enough food to provide 8.6 million meals, but despite this significant impact we’ve not yet managed to access much of the surplus fresh produce in this country. It’s been estimated that 20-40 per cent of UK fruit and vegetables grown in the UK are rejected before they reach the supermarkets because they don’t meet cosmetic standards, and we’re looking into ways that we can reach this food and get it eaten. One idea is that we empower our network of enthusiastic volunteers to ‘glean’ this food for us - working with growers to harvest their surplus crops for free. We trialled this in September at an orchard in Surrey and collected over a tonne of fruit. Trays of juicy, pink Discovery apples, picked less than 24 hours before, were quickly munched down by people all over London who may not otherwise eat at all.
We all know that fresh fruit and vegetables are essential for a healthy diet, but for many FareShare clients the fresh produce from us will be the only helping they get. Food prices and record inflation are placing fruit and vegetables out of reach of many people, at a time when they need help more than ever, so we’re calling on FPJ readers to get involved and help us to fight this food poverty. A project worker in North Wales told us: “Many of our clients have lost the motivation to cook properly for themselves and as such they’re grossly underweight and undernourished. They need a larger supply of nutritious food to regain heath and FareShare allows us to provide this without worrying about loss and cutting back elsewhere - as a charity this is vital.”
So what can you do to help? On 18 November, with the support of the mayor of London, we’re partnering with other charities to launch Feeding the 5000, an event to promote the message that food is too good to waste and to show businesses and the general public the ethical options for food waste disposal. Come along to Trafalgar Square for a free lunch made with surplus food and find out more about what we do and how you can get involved.
Lindsay Boswell is CEO of FareShare, a charity that fights hunger and food waste. See www.fareshare.org.uk for more info
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