The partnership will last for five years and will play a key role in delivering Premier Foods’ goals of donating 1 million meals and 1,000 volunteering days annually, while also halving its food waste by 2030.
Since 2020, Premier Foods has provided and delivered the equivalent of in excess 1.3 million meals to FareShare
As part of the partnership Premier Foods will provide food donations directly to FareShare, which will be redistributed to nearly 9,500 charities and community groups in its network. Premier Foods will also provide funding to enable FareShare to redistribute food across its network of 31 warehouses across the UK.
Not only will the partnership help to put food on the tables of people in need, at a time when 9.9 million people in the UK are struggling to afford to eat and following the recent launch of FareShares cost of living crisis appeal for food donations, it will also help reduce the amount of food going to waste.
This news builds on Premier Foods’ continued efforts to tackle food waste, which includes last year doubling the amount of food redistributed for human consumption to 750 tonnes and achieving zero waste to landfill status since 2016.
Building on this progress and drawing on FareShare’s expertise, Premier Foods will further review 10 of its manufacturing sites to identify and unlock innovative new ways to reduce food waste further in its own operations and encourage suppliers and consumers to do the same.
Currently, 9.5 million tonnes of food is wasted across the food industry annually in the UK. According to climate action NGO WRAP, the highest proportion comes from the home with 4.5 million tonnes of edible food going to waste every year, which equates to a UK household throwing away on average eight meals a week.
Last month, the Company launched a new food waste reduction campaign and microsite, “Fresh take on food waste”, which allows households to input leftover ingredients in their fridge and generate a tailored recipe incorporating them and their chosen cooking sauce. https://www.freshtakeonfoodwaste.co.uk
Catherine David, Director of Collaboration and Change, WRAP: “We’re delighted by this announcement from our partners Premier Foods and FareShare, who are showing real leadership in the fight on food waste.
"The redistribution of food to people who need it is a good thing for society, and for the planet. Since WRAP began working in this area in 2015, levels of redistribution have increased over three-fold and by 2021 around 426,000 tonnes of surplus food had been redistributed. We call on more businesses to collaborate to ensure no good food is binned.”
Lindsay Boswell, CEO of FareShare said: “We’re incredibly grateful to be partnering with Premier Foods to help achieve their commitments to deliver the equivalent of 1 million meals and 1,000 volunteering days a year, which will help us get good-to-eat, surplus food, that may otherwise go to waste, to our network of nearly 9,500 charities across the UK. Alongside this, we’re honoured to be part of their ambitions to halve the Company’s food waste by 2030, which aligns perfectly with our mission to tackle food waste and hunger in the UK.”
Commenting on the partnership, Alex Whitehouse, CEO, Premier Foods, said: “Food poverty is an issue impacting more than one in ten people in the UK. Yet, at the same time, over 2 million tonnes of edible food is wasted every year, the equivalent to 1.3 billion meals.
"As one of the UK’s leading food businesses, and home to some of the nation’s favourite brands, we know we have a key role to play in tackling these important, interlinked issues and believe we can make a real difference in the communities we operate in. That’s why back in 2017 we pledged to halve our food waste by 50% by 2030 and in the first year of the pandemic alone, we donated 600,000 meals to local communities.
“However, it’s now time to dial up our progress, which is why, last year, we reiterated our commitments and set bold targets to help provide food to those who need it most, volunteer our time and reduce the amount of food we send to waste. I’m delighted that, through this partnership with FareShare, a charity aligned to our purpose and ambitions in our Enriching Life Plan, we’re going to spend the next five years working together to do just that.”
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