FareShare Cymru wants to speak with food and drink businesses that experience issues with food surplus, and want to tackle their carbon footprint. We turn an environmental problem into a social solution, by working with partners in the food and drink industry to divert their edible surplus food to vulnerable people around Wales. We work with over 170 community groups and charities, providing them with a regular supply of good, nutritious food that would otherwise have been wasted.
Food surplus arises for any number of reasons such as, but not limited to: forecasting errors, labelling errors, obsolete seasonal stock, packaging issues or production trials. In terms of the food we’re able to accept as donations, our primary criteria is that the food has a minimum of 48 hours’ minimum life on receipt, and is still safe to consume. FareShare Cymru believes this food is always better off going onto plates and feeding vulnerable people.
We would welcome a discussion with food businesses of any size from across Wales, to help them do good with their surplus food. In particular, we want to open access for vulnerable people to the staples that many take for granted in their weekly shop. We have an ongoing need to access mainstays of the Great British diet, including tea, coffee, sugar, butter and eggs. FareShare Cymru would welcome discussions with any producers or manufacturers in Wales that accrue these items as surplus stock, to ensure they don’t go to waste.
In addition to helping some of the most vulnerable people in Wales, donating your surplus food to FareShare prevents it from being sent to landfill – the most common destination for food waste. This adds a substantial reduction to your firm’s carbon footprint, meaning that your surplus does good for both people and planet. In 2021-22, FareShare Cymru rescued enough food and drink waste to save an equivalent 2650 tonnes of CO2 emissions from going into our atmosphere.
To discuss donating your firm’s food surplus, the Surplus with Purpose Cymru fund, or for any other questions please contact Simon Stranks (Food Sourcing Coordinator) at Simon@fareshare.cymru