Food banks ‘forced to dispose of retailer food waste’

A damning new report by environmental group Feedback Global claims supermarkets are dumping their rotting produce on food banks in the name of charity.

Used By: How businesses dump their waste on food charities – which was launched in the House of Commons today (25 March) – says nutritionally inadequate food is being unacceptably passed on by supermarkets and retailers to food redistribution organisations to dispose of.

The report, drawn from the experiences of food bank workers in the UK, found 91 per cent of those surveyed have had to discard donated food because it was damaged or inedible. One worker said they spent £375 on carpet cleaning after a donation of rotten bananas, while another reported that veg arrives “mouldy”.

“I think it is wrong that supermarkets can record zero waste when actually we, as a food bank, are having to dispose of their waste,” another foodbank worker is quoted as saying.

In its report, Feedback Global says the food redistribution model fails to take account of the burdens placed on food aid organisations, and is not the answer to food poverty. It is therefore calling for mandatory reporting of food waste for large and medium businesses throughout the supply chain, national targets to halve food waste by 2030 and a levy retailers must pay in relation to the food wasted in their supply chain.

It also endorses the establishment of a real living wage, universal free schools meals and the removal of the five-week wait for Universal Credit.

Jessica Sinclair Taylor, deputy director at Feedback Global, said: “The redistribution of food is quite clearly not the answer to tackling either food waste or food poverty in the UK. Our research shows that – despite the heroic efforts of food aid employees – food donated by businesses is often damaged, expired, nutritionally inadequate and ends up never being eaten. We need to stop kidding ourselves that food poverty can be solved by food waste and vice-versa, and start addressing the root causes of both to the benefit of people and planet.”

The report comes at a time when food bank usage is at a record high, with more than 3 million people in the UK accessing food aid organisations last year – a huge increase from the 26,000 people who did so in 2008/09.