FareShare, the UK’s largest food redistribution charity, is opening a new centre in Ipswich. The new Regional Centre, FareShare East Anglia, will save good food from going to waste by redistributing it to charities in the whole of the East Anglia region. FareShare East Anglia is calling on retailers, manufacturers and suppliers to get in touch with the charity to find out how they can ensure their surplus food will feed local people in their community.
FareShare East Anglia will be FareShare’s twenty-first UK Regional Centre. This year alone the charity redistributed good quality surplus food to 6,723 charities, providing enough food to provide 28.6 million meals for vulnerable people. These include breakfast clubs for children, homeless hostels, lunch clubs for older people and domestic violence refuges.
FareShare Director of Network Development Mark Varney, said: “The East of England produces a fantastic amount of food – from pork and poultry to potatoes and vegetables – but we know that wherever food is grown, packaged or stored, there will always be some surplus. We already work with a number of producers in the area and are looking forward to developing new relationships with producers, manufacturers, suppliers and retailers to help them reduce their food waste as well as support their local community.
“FareShare is a tried and tested solution, with over 20 years’ experience working with food companies. Increasingly, the food industry is recognising the business benefit in tackling food waste. No one wants to see good food thrown away, and by redistributing it you know that food will help the most vulnerable. Consumers value companies who do the right thing with their surplus food.”
Maxine Mackender, Head of Supply Chain, Birds Eye UK, said, “Birds Eye have been supplying frozen food to FareShare for over two years. We are proud to help in the way we know how – providing quality food in an effective distribution network. Birds Eye have built a close relationship with FareShare and are honoured to have such a great partner getting the food we love out to those that need it. Much of our manufacturing is based in East Anglia, so it is great to be able to support local communities.”
The donation which has funded FareShare’s new Regional Centre is part of a wider initiative by the Enterprise Rent-A-Car Foundation called ‘Fill Your Tank’, designed to celebrate the company’s 60th anniversary.
FARESHARE
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