400,000 tonnes of food going to waste that could feed the hungry, says Fareshare

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The UK could be losing out on 800 million meals from ‘hidden food’ that could help 5.8 million people, according to charity FareShare.

FareShare, which redistributes surplus food from the food and drink industry to charities for food poverty, estimates that a further 400,000 tonnes of edible food is wasted in the supply chain after it, and other charities, have done their work.

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This surplus food could provide 800 million meals and is equivalent to 13 meals per person in the UK.

FareShare chief executive Lindsay Boswell said: “FareShare has been working with leading supermarkets and suppliers for over 20 years to rescue good food from going to waste and redirect it to people in need across the UK.

“Over the past decade we have redistributed enough surplus to provide over 67 million meals. This is a great milestone to reach in our 10th anniversary and we are only using 1.5 per cent of surplus food. However, this is just the tip of the iceberg of what is potentially available and we could be providing so much more from this source.

“We have built a sustainable and successful model to tackle food hunger through food waste, which all started thanks to our original founders Crisis and Sainsbury’s. Without their input we wouldn’t be here today helping feed 62,200 people daily and I look forward to building on this success in the future.”