FareShare South West has opened a warehouse in Plymouth to help tackle food poverty in Devon and Cornwall – delivering food for over one million meals a year, saving 420 tonnes of surplus food going to waste.
FareShare South West is an independent charity as part of the UK’s largest food charity, FareShare, which tackles the issues of food waste and hunger.
FareShare South West takes over 2,000 tonnes of quality surplus food every year that would otherwise have been wasted, and distributes it to over 400 charities, schools and community groups across the South West. The majority of food surplus occurs before food even gets to the supermarket, and FareShare is the only charity to take food from the wholesale level of the food industry.
After four years’ planning, the new Plymouth warehouse will help tackle food poverty in the area. A 2021 study prepared for Devon County Council showed that one in 10 Devon households experienced very low food security, with household members eating less and going hungry due to a lack of money and resources.
With the cost of living on the rise, this figure is likely to increase. FareShare South West hopes their Plymouth warehouse, which will have the capacity to deliver food for a million meals a year, will not only help stop people going hungry at this tough time, but also enable communities to be more resilient long term.
The Plymouth warehouse is transformational, unlocking a whole new region of untapped affordable food. The regular weekly van deliveries mean that surplus can be collected whenever it arises on the return run. This is especially important for local food producers, who may find themselves with extra food that has a short shelf life and would otherwise go to waste.
As the service expands and more van routes are launched, charities in areas that were previously inaccessible can benefit from a new food supply. For example, the new delivery run to Tintagel charities returns via a major dairy producer in Lostwithiel.
Ginsters has been supplying surplus food weekly to FareShare South West since March 2020. Alice Rumbold, from Ginsters, said:
“Our partnership with FareShare South West is a natural fit; our surplus food donations help feed those most in need, and food waste is naturally reduced. The infrastructure and food safety due diligence that FareShare South West have in place to support its members and protect our communities has helped break through red tape previously encountered when donating branded, chilled surplus food.”
Due to the extensive network at FareShare UK, the charity can bring large quantities of surplus food to local charities that the area would not otherwise have access to, coming from over 700 food suppliers across the UK.
Alongside this, they can unlock currently untapped surplus food from food companies in Devon and Cornwall, who until now had few options for their wholesale surplus.
Shelley Wright, head of region for Devon and Cornwall, said:
“We are delighted to open this Plymouth warehouse and use it to support and bolster existing food charities across the region. Over the past four years, this has been a real community effort, collaborating with local charities and food companies to unlock a new supply of affordable food.
“To reach the most people possible, we need to have all parts of the operations running. So, we are looking for volunteers who would like to help in the warehouse and drive vans, as well as local food companies who would like to partner with us to reduce waste while helping the local community.
“The new warehouse is a new support for member charities, but against the dual backdrops of extreme food poverty and high levels of surplus food, we know there is more work to be done. This warehouse represents our commitment to growing our food redistribution across the Devon and Cornwall regions. Long term, we aim to work with local partner charities to extend our service further into Cornwall.”
Lindsay Boswell, CEO of FareShare UK said:
“We’re very proud to be supporting local communities by working alongside frontline organisations in Devon and Cornwall. The new Plymouth warehouse will allow us to create relationships with new suppliers and get good-to-eat surplus from the food industry onto people’s plates, tackling food insecurity and the unnecessary wasting of good food.”
To learn more about how to get involved, visit www.faresharesouthwest.org.uk
