Food and fresh produce distribution charity FareShare has teamed up with XPO Logistics to run two new national distribution centres.
The two centres have already delivered more than 10 million meals to vulnerable people during the coronavirus pandemic.
Fareshare stated they had teamed up with XPO logistics to meet “skyrocketing demand”, with two new warehouses in Lutterworth, Leicestershire, and Banbury in Oxfordshire.
Both sites are managing non-perishable food only. Typically, FareShare distributes fresh surplus food to charities who then use it to cook nutritious meals, however, because of the lockdown, many charities are adapting their services and are now delivering food parcels onto people’s doorsteps.
The ambient food needed to make up these parcels has either been donated by retailers or purchased with funding from Defra.
The Lutterworth site was donated by Asda, with more than 4,141 tonnes of food going through the Lutterworth and Banbury warehouses already. Meanwhile, 436 tonnes were distributed last week alone, enough to provide over 1 million meals.
Lindsay Boswell, FareShare chief executive, said:“The crisis has presented FareShare with a challenge like nothing we’ve ever experienced. We’ve had to significantly adapt our operations while demand for our service has soared, and continues to soar.
“With millions more people now struggling to afford food as the result of the crisis, it has never been more vital to pull together to ensure the most vulnerable in our society don’t fall through the gaps. Thanks to partners like XPO Logistics and Asda, we’ve now doubled the amount of food we’re getting out to charities working on the frontline - and we’re extremely grateful for their support.”
Simon Blackman, senior manager commercial, at Asda Logistics Services added:“It has never been more important to help our communities through this difficult and unprecedented time, which is why we are incredibly proud to support our Fight Hunger Create Change partners, FareShare and the Trussell Trust, to be able to provide food to the most vulnerable people throughout this crisis.”
