FareShare UK Call on Government MP’s to Tackle Food Waste
In October 2021, a group of over 50 MPs have written to the Prime Minister, calling on the Government to take urgent action to reduce food waste.
“In 2019, the Government demonstrated a bold commitment to tackling food waste, with a successful trial that diverted millions of meals’ worth of great quality surplus food from British farms to frontline charities providing care and support to vulnerable families.”
Lindsay Boswell, FareShare CEO, mentioned that in the run up to COP (1st-13th November 2021), FareShare UK are urging the Government to show leadership on this issue and commit to extending vital funding to get good-to-out, surplus food onto people’s plates.
Two million tonnes of fresh, unsold food is wasted in the UK every year. Funding to help farmers and food producers get this food to frontline charities has now ended. If the funding were to be extended, it could create an additional 53 million meals for vulnerable families. Without it, the food will be wasted – thrown into biogas digesters, sent to landfill or simply ploughed back into the fields.
This letter is part for of the #FoodOnPlates campaign launched by FareShare UK. The letter, signed by 53 MPs representing both sides of the house, calls for funding towards offsetting the costs of redistributing food from farmers and businesses to charities. This will help the UK mitigate 12,378 tonnes of carbon. You can find the full list of signatories here, and the letter to Boris Johnson here.
Unfortunately, the government did not allocate funding for a food waste scheme. However, FareShare UK will continue to urge the government to work with them and with the food industry, to ensure farmers and food producers are no longer penalised for doing the right thing with their surplus food. Together, we can help save food from going to waste and get it straight onto people’s plates.
