According to FareShare, 5.8 million people live in deep poverty in the UK – and the charity are doing all they can to fight hunger and tackle food waste.
(PRWEB UK) 20 December 2013
While the headlines have been dominated by the news of energy price hikes, there are two other urgent issues facing people in the UK now – food poverty and food waste.
FareShare is a charity in the UK which is dedicated to supporting communities relieve food poverty by supplying delicious and nutritious food to the most vulnerable people in our society including children, the elderly and the homeless.
According to FareShare, 5.8 million people live in deep poverty in the UK – and the charity are doing all they can to fight hunger and tackle food waste.
Currently, FareShare serves over 1,000 charities throughout the UK – feeding over 400,000 people every day. The charity relies on partnerships with the food and drinks industry to save perfectly good food that would ordinarily end up in landfill and recently secured a great deal with supermarket giant, Tesco.
In October 2013, Tesco admitted that 28,000 tonnes of food waste was generated in its stores and distribution centres in the first six months of 2013, as reported in the Independent.
In light of this revelation, Tesco announced that they would handover surplus food that was fit for purpose to FareShare – helping the charity to create the equivalent of seven million more meals every year.
Lucy Danger from EMERGE, FareShare’s Manchester Partner who run the local FareShare depot, said “Tesco’s openness about food waste really helped to highlight a key issue in the UK. For an industry that provides food to more than 60 million people everyday, there will inevitably be some waste – but it’s what can be done with food that’s still fit for purpose which is really important.
“We’re so pleased that Tesco has chosen FareShare to divert their surplus food to. We also work with ASDA and Sainsbury’s and take in 4,200 tonnes of food which help us to feed 51,000 people a day. Currently we estimate that we handle just one per cent of the surplus available and still seek responsible food businesses to build partnerships with us.”
While the charity relies on its relationships with the food industry, they also encourage help from non-food related businesses through charitable activities. One company which is currently helping FareShare by holding a clothes donation project is Baines & Ernst – a leading financial solutions company that specialises in helping people get out of debt.
Lucy Danger continues, “We currently have a pop-up shop on Lincoln Square in Manchester City Centre where we sell bespoke items from local artists and craft specialists, as well as pre-loved clothing. The money raised in our shops helps us to fund the running costs of our FareShare operation so that we can continue to serve the communities we help throughout the Greater Manchester and surrounding region.
“We welcome all fundraising from businesses and what Baines & Ernst is doing is a great idea. The company is helping to collect garments that we can sell in our shops and those items which cannot be sold in the shop will be sold to industry as rags. Nothing goes to waste – everything is recycled and every penny goes to a fantastic cause.”
Shaz Sulaman from Baines & Ernst says, “Every month our staff choose a charity to support and raise money through various activities from cake sales to dress down days. We decided to do something on a bigger scale for FareShare and support their ethos of recycling by donating clothes. Staff have been fantastic and have parted with lots of clothes for a great cause. We’re proud to be able to do something for such a great charity like FareShare.”
Those who are interested in learning more about FareShare or how to get involved with the charity should visit Get involved – FareShare.
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