With one in seven people going hungry in the UK, including 2.7 million children, the food industry is joining forces to help tackle the issue through a new campaign and a coalition.
The ‘Let’s make a meal of it’ campaign launched yesterday across four major supermarkets – Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose – supported by suppliers. It will encourage shoppers to donate online or to round up their bill at the checkout in stores.
All the money donated will go to FareShare, the UK’s leading food redistribution charity, which works with 8,000 frontline charities and community groups across the UK. It will be spent on sourcing and redistributing meals from surplus food, with every £1 raised expected to provide five meals for people who need them.
Beneficiaries will include children who’ll receive a hot meal at youth clubs during the holidays and people experiencing loneliness and isolation who can meet others over a shared meal.
The food industry is also pledging to work together to identify and secure more sources of surplus food that can be rescued as demand for meals rises.
A new coalition called Alliance Food Sourcing, led by IGD, FareShare, and The Felix Project, is bringing together supermarkets, suppliers, logistics providers and charities to help tackle the issue. It will focus on the 4.6 million tonnes of edible food that goes to waste across the food supply chain every year, before it reaches people’s plates.
Simon Roberts, CEO of Sainsbury’s and President of IGD, said: “At Sainsbury’s, we believe everyone should have access to good food. This is a breakthrough for the UK food industry to be working together in this way to tackle food poverty and just shows what is possible in delivering real and positive change.”
Matthew Barnes, UK CEO of Tesco, added: “We are excited to support the Let’s make a meal of it campaign and strengthen our partnership with FareShare. Collaboration is key to addressing food insecurity, and we are happy to partner on this with the other retailers.”
Meanwhile, Sarah Bradbury, CEO of IGD, commented: “It’s extraordinary to see what’s possible when the industry comes together. Thousands of tonnes of good, surplus food are already being rescued, providing meals for the most vulnerable in our society, whilst cutting waste in the food supply chain. We urge all members of the food industry to join Alliance Food Sourcing.”
