Charities to get £15m fund to save surplus farm food
Getty ImagesCharities, food banks and homeless shelters will receive £15m of government funding to help use surplus farm food.
The scheme will launch in 2025 and will provide grants of £20,000 or more to the not-for-profit food redistribution sector in England.
It continues a promise made by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s predecessor Rishi Sunak to launch food waste prevention fund.
The government estimates that approximately 330,000 tons of edible food is wasted or used as animal feed every year.
The program is designed to help these groups acquire new equipment, such as hoppers and balers, or train staff and set up new technology so they can get food that would otherwise go to those who need it most.
Mary Creagh, Labour’s circular economy minister, said: “As families come together to celebrate Christmas and New Year, it’s important to remember those in our communities who may go hungry over the festive period.
“No one wants to see good food go to waste – especially the farmers who work so hard to put food on the tables of families across the country.”
The heads of two food redistribution charities said they were “thrilled” the fund had finally come to fruition after years of campaigning and were keen to act quickly to maximize its impact during the UK growing season.
Charlotte Hill and Kris Gibbon-Walsh, chief executive of charities The Felix Project and FareShare, said they were delighted to announce the fund after years of campaigning “excited”.
