FareShare facts

Minimising food going to waste

The Government has made a commitment to reduce the amount of biodegradable waste, including food, from going to landfill by 60% by 2016.

The Environement Agency has estimated that the food and drinks industry generates 10% - approx. 10 million tonnes - of the total amount of waste produced by industrial and commercial activity in the UK.

Read more about FareShare and the Environment

"Each person in the UK produces about seven times their own weight in waste every year. We produce more waste per head than most other EU nations and recycle less"
               Margaret Beckett, Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural affairs

Health and Nutruition

Up to 5,000 people in each Parliamentary constituency may be malnourished.

An estimated 40% of people admitted to hospital are malnourished.

It is estimated that 4 million people in the UK cannot afford a healthy diet, with 1 in 7 people over 65 at serious risk of malnourishment.

Research has shown that three in five homeless people have no daily intake of fresh fruit and vegetables.

Poor health has a significant impact on homeless people with anaverage lifespan of just 42 years compared to the national average of 74 years.

Read more about FareShare and food poverty

FareShare in action

FareShare operates seven FareShare schemes in partnership with local charities across the UK in London, Brighton & Hove, Dundee, Edinburgh, Birmingham and Barnsley.

FareShare works with over 100 companies and 420 local charities across the UK.

We help provide healthy meals to 16,000 homeless and vulnerable people each year.

Last year, we redistribute 2,000 tonnes of quality food. We contribute to over 3.3 million meals for people in need across the UK.

Our 2003 National Impact Survey showed:
- 60% of the recipient projects can now spend money on other services
- 84% of these projects also indicated they can now regularly provide a wider range of healthier food.