Industry 'should help the hungry'

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The food industry must do more to stop millions of pounds of goods going to waste, according to a national charity.

Suppliers and retailers could help drag thousands of Britons out of "food poverty" by passing on unwanted food rather than binning it, said FareShare.

The charity, which distributes food to projects helping the poor and homeless, said 58% of people using them admitted going at least day without a meal.

It wants help diverting 20,000 tonnes of unwanted food to 100,000 needy.

FareShare acts as a waste broker, charging supermarkets and suppliers to take unwanted food which has been oversupplied, has packaging faults or is nearing the end of its shelf life.

But instead of taking it to landfill, it distributes the produce to projects such as homeless shelters, women's refuges, day centres and youth groups. It's cheaper for firms to dispose of food by giving it to people to eat, rather than recycling it or throwing it in landfill Tony LoweFareShare chief executive <a class="" href="/1/hi/uk/7621839.stm">How waste food can be a lifeline</a>

The charity says it redistributed 3,000 tonnes of food last year - the equivalent of 4.6 million meals.

But it wants to open 18 new depots and increase the number of community groups it supplies from 500 to 2,500.

For that it needs industry backing and funding from sources like the National Lottery and charitable trusts.

Chief executive Tony Lowe is to explain the charity's three-year plan to food industry leaders and politicians at an event in London.

He said firms could save money by using FareShare because its disposal methods were not subject to charges such as landfill tax.

"It's cheaper for firms to dispose of food by giving it to people to eat, rather than recycling it or throwing it in landfill," said Mr Lowe.

"We are asking the food industry to get behind us because they will be the beneficiaries, as well as those people we help.

"The people who benefit from our food would have appalling diets otherwise, so we try to get as much fresh fruit and veg as we can."

The charity classes four million people in the UK as being in food poverty, meaning they cannot afford a healthy diet or have no access to cooking facilities.

Climate change

Kraft, Kelloggs, Nestle and Danone are among FareShare's regular customers, which also takes surplus own-brand stock from most of the major supermarkets.

At the 12 FareShare depots across the UK, the food is checked for quality and refrigerated before distribution.

Alastair Sykes, chairman of Nestle UK, said: "No-one in the food industry wants to see good food going to waste.

"Partnering with FareShare means that good quality surplus food from Nestle can benefit those who need it most."

This year, a government study revealed 4.1m tonnes of food was wasted in the UK every year, adding an average of £420 to family shopping bills.

It prompted Prime Minister Gordon Brown to call on Britons to plan meals in advance and store food properly to prevent waste and help curb rising food prices.

Waste Minister Joan Ruddock said there were no accurate figures to show how much is thrown away by the food industry but that it could amount to millions more tonnes.

"Food waste is going primarily to landfill and decays to produce methane, which is a very potent greenhouse gas adding to climate change," she said.

"FareShare provides a perfect mechanism for taking good food which is safe to consume, but will not be sold, and making sure it goes to places where it can still do some good."