1,005 charities have signed an open letter to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak calling on the Government to combat food waste amidst increasing food insecurity.

FareShare, the UK’s biggest charity fighting hunger and food waste, coordinated the letter urging the Government to take action as the charity struggles to meet the demand for its food. This is despite FareShare and the charities it supports receiving record volumes of food from the food industry.

Although the Government has provided funding in previous years, it recently stated that it does not have a responsibility to help redistribute surplus food.

FareShare has calculated that by committing £25 million per year, the Government could deliver 42,500 tonnes of surplus food – the equivalent of 100 million meals – to those experiencing food insecurity. The majority of this funding would make it cost-neutral for farmers and food businesses to redistribute their surplus food by paying for labour, packaging and transport.

FareShare has laid out several ways to pay for the scheme, including diverted anaerobic digestion subsidies, dormant assets, or the recently announced sovereign wealth grant.

FareShare estimates that funding food redistribution would save the Government £140 million in costs avoided through the services provided by the charities. The funding would also prevent the waste of nearly 70,000 tonnes of CO2e – the equivalent of over 150,000 barrels of oil burned.

Lindsay Boswell, CEO of FareShare, said: “Every day, more and more people struggle to feed themselves and their families. Charities providing food and services to communities hit by the cost of living crisis struggle to keep up with skyrocketing demand. Meanwhile, a staggering amount of good-to-eat food is going to waste on farms and in factories”.

More than 3 million tonnes of good-to-eat food is wasted on UK farms every year, the equivalent of 6.9 billion meals. Meanwhile up to 14 million people in the UK, including 4 million children, are food insecure. FareShare works with the food industry to redistribute 4 meals every second to those that need it, via a network of 9,500 charities. As well as distributing food, 90% of these charities provide wraparound services for people who are struggling with issues including unemployment and low income, debt, homelessness, family break up, and drug and alcohol dependency.

A recent survey of FareShare’s network revealed the strain that the cost of living crisis is putting on charities and community groups providing frontline services. Between January and October 2022,

96% of charities claimed to have been directly affected by the cost of living crisis, 90% had seen an increase in demand, and 73% reported new recipients accessing their services for the first time.

Lindsay Boswell, CEO of FareShare, continued: “We have yet to meet a politician who does not support the idea that food that is surplus should be used to strengthen our communities before it becomes waste, and we have had lots of positive responses. But what is needed is action and action now. The charities that rely on FareShare’s food provide vital community care, ultimately saving the government money. They all agree, and the public agrees; it’s time the Government stepped up and turned these warm words into reality.”

Eyres Monsell Club for Young People is a youth and community centre in Leicester that runs a weekly foodbank using food provided by FareShare. Community Manager Keanan Bartram said:
“The cost of living crisis is having a drastic impact on so many local residents and families in the area. While we’ve also noticed more people applying for food parcels, many are using the space as somewhere to keep warm as they can no longer afford their heating bills. One resident has just finished her chemotherapy treatment for cancer, and comes to the centre everyday as it saves her money on gas, electric and food, not to mention the running costs of her chemo cap to keep her head warm at night, which is vital for her health. Demand is increasing and the Government needs to act and support our most vulnerable residents in this crisis.”

Part-time care worker and single mother-of-one Alison Trevellion, who regularly uses the food bank service at BeChange community hub in Aylesham, Kent, said: “I couldn’t survive without my local community hub. As well as providing food parcels through their partnership with FareShare, BeChange offers guidance on financial planning, benefit advice, and cooking classes. It’s a vital service in the community but I can see first-hand how much the hub is struggling to meet demand. There’s not enough food parcels to go around the increasing number of people who are relying them to feed their families. I don’t understand why the Government is refusing to help at a time when it’s so difficult for millions of people across the country, especially considering how much good food goes to waste.”

Trevellion’s petition to urge the Government to provide funding for food redistribution has reached over 70,000 signatures.

FareShare’s innovative Surplus with Purpose (SWP) scheme covers the cost for British farmers to pick, package, and transport their surplus food, which FareShare then delivers to charities. Despite being the largest service of its kind in the UK, FareShare lacks consistent funding to maintain redistribution at scale. In 2019, the organisation received a £1.9 million grant as part of a £15 million UK government-led trail project to tackle food waste. However, the Government has since failed to deliver any further funding for the redistribution of good-to-eat food.