Lucy's Big Ride for FareShare North West

EMERGE Recycling

FareShare North West is a surplus food redistribution service run by EMERGE Food, an initiative of the EMERGE 3Rs charity. Our aim is to combat waste and food poverty through both the FareShare project and education of cookery and food awareness.

FareShare Facts

• Since FareShare NW was set up in 2008, nearly 1000 tonnes of fit-for-purpose food from the food industry has been diverted from landfill and redistributed to 60 community organisations and charities across Greater Manchester and the North West region. 
• Enough food is diverted every day to feed 320 people. In 2011 this equated to 350,000 meals for those most in need: homeless shelters; refugee support centres; school breakfast clubs; day centres for the elderly; and projects for young people. 
• The organisations benefiting from FareShare NW can use the significant funds saved to reinvest in the provision of other vital services for the people they support.
• Over 100 volunteers have been able to make the most of work experience and training opportunities. Many are clients of the organisations we supply and have experienced long term unemployment or lack formal qualifications.
• We have run public cookery demonstrations across Greater Manchester to promote healthy eating with a strong focus on reducing food waste, as part of the Love Food Hate Waste campaign. 
• Since December 2011 we have been accepting donations of fresh produce previously being composted by New Smithfield wholesale market traders, adding another strand to FareShare’s web. To date, 7.5 tonnes of fresh, avoidable food waste has been redistributed. This is equivalent almost 100,000 5-a-day portions being made available to those in food poverty.

What Now?

• FareShare NW plays a vital role helping those in food poverty in Greater Manchester, but it doesn’t come without a cost. Every year we have to raise around £50,000 to run the operation through fundraising and donations in addition to the money we raise from membership fees. 
• This year, EMERGE’s Chief Executive Lucy Danger is making a direct personal contribution to our efforts by undertaking a grueling sponsored bike ride from Land’s End to John O’Groats. That’s nearly 1000 miles!

courtesy of the contemporary caveman

You can learn more and support Lucy by donating here. She’s also looking for corporate sponsors who will benefit from an attractive PR package (contact Lucy directly at lucy@emergemanchester.co.uk to discuss this opportunity). You’ll be able to read about her gruelling journey here on EMERGE’s own blog.