FareShare partner Rush Group has this month reached the milestone of providing 3 million meals for vulnerable families and individuals across the UK.
The root veg and potato specialist has been providing vital fresh produce to charities and community groups through its partnership with FareShare since 2019, diverting a regular supply of surplus or off-specification vegetables including potatoes, butternut squash, and sweet potatoes, FareShare said.
By working with FareShare to ensure its surplus, wonky, too big or too small, but always good-to-eat produce gets diverted away from waste and onto the charities and groups FareShare supports, it has found a great solution to maximise what they source, grow and pack, the charity added.
By working with FareShare Rush Group is also reducing its carbon footprint.
'Every 1 tonne of food that FareShare UK redistributed in 2019/20, we prevented the waste of 1.6 tonnes of embedded CO2e,' Guy Burgoyne, director at Rush Group said.
'To reach this milestone of 3 million meals reaffirms our decision to direct surplus fresh produce to FareShare,' he continued. 'It’s heartwarming to know our produce is having a meaningful impact on the lives of many. We are proud to play our part. Fareshare’s Surplus for Purpose fund and their supportive team have been instrumental in making this possible The partnership has inspired us to go a step further in finding innovative ways to minimise food waste and put surplus veg to work across the entirety of our supply chain.
'In VegRebels, we have developed an exciting range of branded products made from surplus produce which we aim to bring to market by early 2022. By reaching this milestone with Fareshare, we are committed to utilising every opportunity possible to reduce global food waste and food poverty in the UK. #VegRebels! Join the rebellion.”
Lindsay Boswell CEO of FareShare said: “A big thank you to Rush Group and their farmers for working with FareShare to provide 3 million meals. Since 2019 you have provided the charities and community groups we support with regular deliveries of much needed nutritious surplus vegetables. We’re proud to partner with a company so committed to minimising waste within their supply chain, and excited about what the future holds.”
FareShare is the UK’s biggest food charity. It takes surplus good-to-eat food from the food industry, sorts it in one of its 30 regional warehouses, and passes it onto a network of more than 10,500 charities and charity groups, including food banks, hostels, refuges, pantries, community centres, older people’s lunch clubs and breakfast and after school clubs for children. Two thirds of the charities FareShare provides with food support children and families.
