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'Morrisons turned away 10,000 Cornish pasties because delivery was late,' hunger report told Morrisons rejected 10,000 Cornish pasties because delivery was 17 minutes late, hunger report told
(about 2 hours later)
Almost 10,000 Cornish pasties were reportedly turned away by a supermarket because the delivery was a quarter of an hour late, according to a damning report exposing food wastage in the UK. Morrisons turned away thousands of pasties because the delivery van turned up to the supermarket a quarter of an hour late.
The All-Party Parliamentary Inquiry into Hunger and Food Poverty in Britain was told that a food bank in Cornwall was offered the perfectly edible pasties when they were rejected by Morrisons. The shocking revelation emerged in a damning report exposing the scale of food wastage in the UK. The report reveals that a food bank in Cornwall was offered the pasties after they were rejected by the giant supermarket chain.
It was a fraction of the 4.3 million tonnes of surplus food produced in the country each year – much of which goes to waste even while increasing numbers of families turn to charity to feed themselves.It was a fraction of the 4.3 million tonnes of surplus food produced in the country each year – much of which goes to waste even while increasing numbers of families turn to charity to feed themselves.
Don Gardner, the manager of the Camborne, Pool and Redruth Food Bank, told the inquiry: “I had 9,864 Cornish pasties [offered to me] because the lorry was seventeen minutes late to Morrisons.Don Gardner, the manager of the Camborne, Pool and Redruth Food Bank, told the inquiry: “I had 9,864 Cornish pasties [offered to me] because the lorry was seventeen minutes late to Morrisons.
“That shouldn’t happen. I was offered 30,000 spring greens the other day because they were going to be ploughed back into the field.“That shouldn’t happen. I was offered 30,000 spring greens the other day because they were going to be ploughed back into the field.
“I couldn’t have them because I didn’t have anywhere to put them. I was offered 10 tonnes of tomatoes from Kent because they were too big for Tesco.”“I couldn’t have them because I didn’t have anywhere to put them. I was offered 10 tonnes of tomatoes from Kent because they were too big for Tesco.”
The report exposed increasing reliance on food banks A spokesperson for Morrisons said the supermarket would investigate but could not confirm his testimony.The report exposed increasing reliance on food banks A spokesperson for Morrisons said the supermarket would investigate but could not confirm his testimony.
“We are puzzled by this claim because it’s our policy not to turn away fresh food from our depots,” he told the Daily Mail.“We are puzzled by this claim because it’s our policy not to turn away fresh food from our depots,” he told the Daily Mail.
“We’d very much like to look at this further but it’s difficult when the report has no record of the time or location of the delivery, nor details of the supplier.”“We’d very much like to look at this further but it’s difficult when the report has no record of the time or location of the delivery, nor details of the supplier.”
The inquiry, also known as the Feeding Britain report, was established to examine evidence of growing demand for food banks and recommend the creation of a new national body to address the crisis.The inquiry, also known as the Feeding Britain report, was established to examine evidence of growing demand for food banks and recommend the creation of a new national body to address the crisis.
It called for action to speed the processing of benefits to ensure new claimants are not left for weeks without an income, stop “rip-off” companies charging higher prices to the poor and end the “scandal” which sees millions of tonnes of waste food destroyed by supermarkets and food manufacturers.It called for action to speed the processing of benefits to ensure new claimants are not left for weeks without an income, stop “rip-off” companies charging higher prices to the poor and end the “scandal” which sees millions of tonnes of waste food destroyed by supermarkets and food manufacturers.
One of the report’s backers was the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev Justin Welby, who said he found it “astonishing” that so much food was being binned when hunger “stalks large parts” of the country.One of the report’s backers was the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev Justin Welby, who said he found it “astonishing” that so much food was being binned when hunger “stalks large parts” of the country.
Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby is backing the report's recommendations Writing in the Mail on Sunday, he said he was “more shocked” by the plight of some families reliant on food banks in the UK than a recent visit to refugee camps in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby is backing the report's recommendations
“A few weeks [after the trip], I was talking to some people - a mum, dad and one child - in a food bank,” he wrote. Writing in the Mail on Sunday, he said he was “more shocked” by the plight of some families reliant on food banks in the UK than a recent visit to refugee camps in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
“They were ashamed to be there. The dad talked miserably. He said they had each been skipping a day's meals once a week in order to have more for the child, but then they needed new tyres for the car so they could get to work at night, and just could not make ends meet.
"So they had to come to a food bank. They were treated with respect, love even, by the volunteers from local churches. But they were hungry, and ashamed to be hungry.
“I found their plight more shocking. It was less serious, but it was here.”
FareShare, a food distribution charity, sells surplus food on The inquiry found that since the establishment of the Trussell Trust network in 2004, numbers of emergency food assistance providers have grown to at least 1,500, including 800 food banks.
The report’s authors wrote that their “anger knows no bounds” at the destruction - sometimes with state subsidies - of 4.3 million tonnes of edible food deemed “surplus” by the UK food industry each year, just 2 per cent of which is diverted to charities to feed the hungry.
They called for the establishment of a national organisation called Feeding Britain, which would aim to increase the amount of “surplus” food being redistributed and drive a campaign to end hunger.
A spokesperson for the Cabinet Office said the inquiry showed that there was “enough food to go around” but it was not getting to the right people.
He added: “We agree that it is wrong that anyone should go hungry at the same time as surplus food is going to waste. There is a moral argument as well as a sustainability one to ensure we make the best use of resources.“
Andrew Opie, the British Retail Consortium’s director of food and sustainability, said that retailers were trying to improve.
"We understand the challenges faced by people on low incomes and our members continue to do everything they can to help but redistribution of surplus food at retail level only makes a small contribution to alleviate poverty and it's not a solution to hunger in the UK,” he added.
“As the report highlights there are many issues that need to be addressed to tackle the underlying causes. However, we currently have both food poverty and food surpluses and retailers have proved very willing to step up and make sure that useable excess stock goes to charities and redistribution organisations across the UK.”
Additional reporting by PA
4.3 million tonnes of surplus food is produced each year – 0.4 million from retail and 3.9 million from manufacturing.
Around 3.7 million tonnes of this is destroyed in landfill, landspreading, thermal treatment or other destinations.
Some 5,800 tonnes of surplus food is currently redistributed to organisations such as FareShare, whilst around 11,000 tonnes of surplus food is sold to organisations like The Company Shop who buy food for sale in secondary markets.
According to the evidence submitted by Gleaning Network UK, there are three million tonnes of food waste arising at farm level.
400,000 tonnes of surplus food could be fit for human consumption, according to FareShare - mostly fresh fruit, vegetables, meat and dairy.
The food sector in the United Kingdom diverts around 0.1% of surplus food for human consumption and the retailers and wholesalers in the United States donate around 32%.
Only 8,000 tonnes each year of surplus food tonnage from ‘back of store’ is suitable for redistribution, the British Retail Consortium said.
Of the 4.3 million tonnes of surplus food produced each year by retailers and their suppliers, 91 per cent arises in the manufacturing sector.
Figures from the Food Poverty Inquiry final report