Food charity FareShare is urgently appealing for donations from the food industry to help support vulnerable people during the coronavirus crisis.
FareShare is the UK’s national network of charitable food redistributors, made up of 17 independent organisations. Together, they take good quality surplus food from right across the food industry and get it to almost 11,000 frontline charities and community groups.
FareShare CEO Lindsay Boswell said: “As a result of the very sharp increase in consumer demand we’ve seen a decline in the amount of surplus food coming into our network manufacturers and processors. So, at this time where charities on the front line are facing unimaginable strain, we’re urgently calling on the industry to donate ambient food, as well as fresh surplus, so we can continue our vital mission of getting food on the plates of vulnerable people.
“8.4 million people in the UK regularly go hungry, and it’s now clear that the coronavirus will have a devastating impact on the poorest in our communities. There are countless more people, most of them elderly or struggling with serious health conditions, who will be forced to self isolate. Already local charities are shifting their provision away from communal meals and towards food parcels that can be delivered to those in need, so, to meet this demand, as well as the full range of surplus fresh and frozen foods, we now need donations of ambient food. These include tinned meat, fish, veg, soup, pulses and beans, store cupboard staples such as rice, pasta and noodles, and breakfast foods such as cereals, UHT juices and milk and tea and coffee.
“We anticipate that, under these extreme circumstances, we will also have to buy in some types of food to make up nutritionally balanced food parcels, and potentially recruit paid workers as volunteer numbers drop. To meet these additional costs we have launched an emergency coronavirus appeal on our website. If you are able to make a contribution please go to fareshare.org.uk.”
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