Warburtons, ABF, Samworth Brothers, and Greencore along with major supermarkets are among the firms to pledge their support to a food redistribution project inspired by His Majesty the King.
The Coronation Food Project – delivered in partnership with FareShare across the UK and The Felix Project in London – intends to provide even more food to support the 13 million people in the UK experiencing food insecurity by targeting all forms of waste in the food supply chain and building on the food industry’s existing initiatives to redistribute surplus food to charities.
A vital element of the project is the Alliance Manufacturing programme, which aims to unlock more surplus food for redistribution by bringing project members together to share their surplus, underutilised and donated resources in all forms – food, packaging, labour hours, and factory/distribution capacity. The central idea is that each resource in isolation has a limited impact, but new food sources can be efficiently created by combining them across multiple businesses along all parts of the supply chain.
The support from food industry leaders has been unanimous, with them joining forces and committing to millions of meals in the pilot phase alone. The first meals have already been produced, with more to come in the run-up to Christmas and beyond. The programme is also supported by IGD, the organisation that delivers social impact through the food and consumer goods industry.
The current list of firms that have signed up are: 2 Sisters, ABF, Aldi, Asda, Bakkavor, Cranswick, Greencore, Greenyard, IGD, Lidl, M&S, Morrisons, Nestle, Princes, Sainsbury’s, Samworth Brothers, Tesco, Waitrose, and Warburtons.
They have pledged the following:
- To relentlessly focus on reducing all forms of waste in the supply chain
- Aligned to and building on the Food Waste Reduction Roadmap, to report on waste throughout the supply chain and demonstrate its reduction or re-use for environmental and social impact
- Put competitive differences aside to actively work together to maximise the combined impact to reduce waste across the UK food supply chain
- Proactively promote best practices, aiming to establish the food industry in the UK as a leading nation in waste reduction, surplus redistribution, and environmental impact.
FareShare CEO described the response from food industry leaders as “incredible”. “I shared the idea with them, and they’ve really taken it on, working together to make it a reality. The food is already getting to our charities – school clubs, community centres and a whole spectrum of support services – and with so many families impacted by the cost-of-living crisis, it is making a difference already.
“And it’s just the start. If everyone in the food industry joins the alliance, no matter how large or small, the combined force would be game-changing. If you’re reading this and you want to join, please email ceo@fareshare.org.uk,” he added.
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