Berkshire-based Waitrose teams up with charity to help food poverty
The company will team up with FareShare to divert surplus farm food to families between March and June
Last updated 25th Feb 2021
Berkshire-based Waitrose and some of its biggest suppliers will give struggling families more than five million surplus food items as part of a new scheme to tackle food poverty.
The supermarket - which has its headquarters in Bracknell - is teaming up with the charity FareShare to divert surplus farm food to families between March and June.
It aims to provide more than a million meals for vulnerable households by redirecting more than five million apples, carrots, mushrooms and baby sprouts.
Waitrose will provide funds to FareShare to redistribute the food, taking away all handling costs from farmers.
This includes diverting food surplus directly from Waitrose’s own farm on the Leckford Estate, near Stockbridge, Hampshire.
It will also provide one million British eggs, donated by Stonegate, and almost 22 tonnes of British beef, donated by Dovecote Park.
Since the pandemic started, FareShare has had to double the amount of food it distributes to meet rising demand.
James Bailey, executive director of Waitrose, said:
“We’ve all been inspired by the brilliant work Marcus Rashford has been doing, and we believe there is now a real opportunity for the industry to stand united and help tackle food poverty right from the farm.
“While farm surplus is put to good use, we must do everything in our power to divert any edible food we can to families that need them during this pandemic.
“As the only supermarket to own and run its own farm, we know how much pressure farmers are under to keep the nation fed, so it’s vital this burden and cost does not rest on their shoulders.
“This is why we will be funding all handling costs until the end of June to get food on the plates of those that need it most. This is just the start and we hope this will lead to us achieving our goal to one day eradicate all avoidable and edible farm waste.”
FareShare chief executive Lindsay Boswell added:
“This is a significant moment in our battle against food waste and hunger in the UK.
“Working with Waitrose farms and suppliers offers FareShare a fantastic opportunity to access food that would otherwise end up going to waste, at a time when millions of people are going hungry across the UK.
“FareShare has pioneered smaller projects with farmers, growers and producers to stop food waste through our Surplus with Purpose scheme, but far more still needs to be done, and the involvement of Waitrose in tackling food waste is a major step forward.”