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FareShare Cymru launches the Surplus with Purpose Cymru fund to help growers redistribute surplus food

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2 min read
AUTHOR: Stef Bottinelli
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Food Bank

Fareshare Cymru is launching its Surplus with Purpose Cymru fund to help Welsh food growers redistribute their surplus produce and help feed those in need.

The fund aims to ease how growers redistribute food, which otherwise would go to waste or be used for animal feed, by helping with the costs of labour, packaging, freezing, harvesting and transport. 

Sarah Germain, Chief Executive Officer of Fareshare Cymru said “We understand that often, the best commercial option for dealing with food that’s unsuitable for wholesale, be it misshaped, too small to feed into production processes, or simply surplus, is to have processed as waste, turned into animal feed or re-ploughed, but this food can be used to feed individuals and families that live in poverty. We want to work with businesses to create cost neutral, if not cost beneficial solutions, to avoiding food waste.”  

Hundreds of businesses across the UK are already working with Fareshare. In Wales, FareShare Cymru already works with the 2 Sisters Food Group, Castell Howard and Peters, and across the UK Tesco, Asda and the Co-Op work with the charity to redistribute its surplus food. FareShare has said that businesses have reported being part of the charity food redistribution programme improves staff morale as they appreciate that each food consignment is feeding people in need, whilst also reducing the carbon impacts of food waste.    

Over a third of children in Wales live in poverty. This is the highest of any UK nation according to leading children’s charity Save the Children, with families struggling to provide the basic needs for their children. During 2020-21, using 1181 tonnes of redistributed food, Fareshare Cymru provided 2.8 million meals to vulnerable people in the community. Furthermore, that same diverted food, that would otherwise have gone to waste prevented 2270 tonnes of CO2 from emission into the atmosphere, helping us tackle climate change.

Surplus with Purpose Cymru is funded by Welsh Government and managed by Fareshare Cymru, a charity based on the outskirts of Cardiff that serves charities and community organisations across Wales.  

The funding is only available for a limited time. Those interested in the initiative and the fund can apply here.

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