Charity needs extra food donations to meet demand
FARESHARE Glasgow and the West of Scotland is urgently appealing for new suppliers to donate their surplus food to feed people who are going hungry.
The appeal follows the charity extending its opening hours in an attempt to keep up with a record demand for emergency food.
However, to meet the growing requests, an extra 20 tonnes of food is needed each week. The charity is urging the food industry to donate additional surplus to help them meet this demand.
The largest food redistribution charity in Scotland, FareShare Glasgow and the West of Scotland redistributes surplus food that would otherwise go to waste to frontline charities and community groups.
Every organisation the charity currently supplies is asking for more food and there are more than 40 new organisations asking for support.
Director of operations Jim Burns said: “Unfortunately, the demand for food has now surpassed our current supply.
“We are hoping to be able to take as many new organisations off our waiting list as possible but, to do so, we urgently need more support and to get new suppliers on board.
“During 2022-23, FareShare Glasgow and the West of Scotland rescued almost 1,500 tonnes of food – the equivalent of over 3.5million meal portions – but that was only enough to supply those already signed up.
“To cut the waiting list and deliver to more organisations, we need more food coming in throughout the week.
“It’s vital all those in the food industry know we are here, can take their surplus food, and redistribute it to those in desperate need.
“We work with a wide range of suppliers, including farms, manufacturers, wholesalers, supermarkets, restaurants and retailers. Our team works with suppliers to make it as simple as possible to donate surplus food and improve their sustainability.”
He urged those in the industry who would like to help to email John Connell at johnc@moveon.org.uk.
FareShare Glasgow and the West of Scotland redistributes surplus food that would otherwise go to waste to frontline charities and community groups, including homeless hostels, children’s breakfast clubs, refuges and lunch clubs for older people.
The warehouse at South Street, Glasgow, provides food for more than 78,000 meal portions every week. To increase deliveries of surplus food, the charity is now open on a Saturday, as well as Monday to Friday.
Meanwhile, FareShare nationally is also warning that demand – which is already at unprecedented levels – is expected to continue to grow over the summer.
At a time when many families are hosting barbecues in back gardens, joining picnics at the beach and sharing ice creams in the park, groups that FareShare supports are seeing more people in need of their lifeline services.
With the summer holidays already under way, FareShare is appealing to all food businesses in Scotland that it does not already work with to step up and help unlock surplus food for redistribution.
Businesses that work with FareShare are not only making a difference to people but they are also helping the planet.
A staggering three million tonnes of good-to-eat food is wasted every year in the UK food industry – that’s the equivalent of almost seven billion meals and enough food to stretch all the way from Inverness to Portsmouth, and back again.
FareShare provides good-to-eat food – that might otherwise go to waste – to charities and community groups across the UK. And of these, three-quarters support children and families.
Throughout the summer holidays, more families than ever will rely on community-based services to feed themselves and their loved ones. By supporting FareShare, businesses can help turn an environmental problem into a social good.
