Sainsbury help FareShare to tackle food poverty and food waste
FareShare North West
We worked with Sainsbuy's in Denton and managed to collect over 39 trays! Fantastic result
Guardian
Thursday 7 July 2011 07.00 BST
Sainsbury's shoppers asked to donate food from their trolleys to poorSainsbury's launches trial with food redistribution charity FareShare to encourage giving to struggling local charities.
Shoppers are to be asked to help struggling community charities and disadvantaged people in their area by donating store cupboard essentials such as pasta and tinned foods from their own trolleys.
Sainsbury's is launching the food donation trial at selected stores from 8-10 July as new research from the food redistribution charity FareShare reveals that 40% of local community projects relying on food donations are struggling to meet demand.
Shoppers will be asked to add an extra item – from a suggested list – to their basket or trolley, and it will then be distributed to local community projects for the homeless and disadvantaged by FareShare. The scheme is based on one operated in France, which has attracted a record 13,000 tonnes in one weekend alone.
The Sainsbury's trial is being carried out in 19 stores, including New Cross Gate in London, Garthdee in Aberdeen and Kings Heath in Birmingham. If successful it could be rolled out across the UK, making it easier for shoppers to donate food regularly.
Lindsay Boswell, chief executive of FareShare said: "At a time of severe economic hardship, we are seeing unprecedented and increasing demand for food donations. We are highlighting the issue to encourage the food industry and the public to increase their support."
Roger Burnley, Sainsbury's retail and logistics director, said: "The food we donate to FareShare tends to be fresh produce as this has the shortest shelf life. However, to make a nutritious meal, you need more than just fresh food, which is why we would like to give customers the opportunity to donate store cupboard items."
FareShare is a national food charity which addresses hunger in the UK by redistributing quality surplus food from the food industry to people who need it. It works with a range of retailers and manufacturers, including Marks and Spencer and the Co-op, and also helps to address the issue of food waste.
Sainsbury's has been working with FareShare since 1994, but this is the first time customers are being asked to take part. FareShare is unique in that it secures surplus, fit-to-eat, food from the food industry and redistributes it to community charities, saving the charities nearly £8m a year in food and other costs. It runs 16 operations and every day 35,000 people benefit from its services through 700 separate community projects.
Boswell said: "FareShare is a cost-effective solution to the food industry's surpluses. With more people than ever needing help just to eat, and the squeeze on charities and other organisations to provide food, we need more food companies to follow the example of companies like Sainsbury's, which last year provided us with enough food to provide 1 million meals."
For more info
http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2011/jul/07/sainsbury-shoppers-donate-food-poor
We worked with Sainsbuy's in Denton and managed to collect over 39 trays! Fantastic result
Guardian
Thursday 7 July 2011 07.00 BST
Sainsbury's shoppers asked to donate food from their trolleys to poorSainsbury's launches trial with food redistribution charity FareShare to encourage giving to struggling local charities.
Shoppers are to be asked to help struggling community charities and disadvantaged people in their area by donating store cupboard essentials such as pasta and tinned foods from their own trolleys.
Sainsbury's is launching the food donation trial at selected stores from 8-10 July as new research from the food redistribution charity FareShare reveals that 40% of local community projects relying on food donations are struggling to meet demand.
Shoppers will be asked to add an extra item – from a suggested list – to their basket or trolley, and it will then be distributed to local community projects for the homeless and disadvantaged by FareShare. The scheme is based on one operated in France, which has attracted a record 13,000 tonnes in one weekend alone.
The Sainsbury's trial is being carried out in 19 stores, including New Cross Gate in London, Garthdee in Aberdeen and Kings Heath in Birmingham. If successful it could be rolled out across the UK, making it easier for shoppers to donate food regularly.
Lindsay Boswell, chief executive of FareShare said: "At a time of severe economic hardship, we are seeing unprecedented and increasing demand for food donations. We are highlighting the issue to encourage the food industry and the public to increase their support."
Roger Burnley, Sainsbury's retail and logistics director, said: "The food we donate to FareShare tends to be fresh produce as this has the shortest shelf life. However, to make a nutritious meal, you need more than just fresh food, which is why we would like to give customers the opportunity to donate store cupboard items."
FareShare is a national food charity which addresses hunger in the UK by redistributing quality surplus food from the food industry to people who need it. It works with a range of retailers and manufacturers, including Marks and Spencer and the Co-op, and also helps to address the issue of food waste.
Sainsbury's has been working with FareShare since 1994, but this is the first time customers are being asked to take part. FareShare is unique in that it secures surplus, fit-to-eat, food from the food industry and redistributes it to community charities, saving the charities nearly £8m a year in food and other costs. It runs 16 operations and every day 35,000 people benefit from its services through 700 separate community projects.
Boswell said: "FareShare is a cost-effective solution to the food industry's surpluses. With more people than ever needing help just to eat, and the squeeze on charities and other organisations to provide food, we need more food companies to follow the example of companies like Sainsbury's, which last year provided us with enough food to provide 1 million meals."
For more info
http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2011/jul/07/sainsbury-shoppers-donate-food-poor
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