Waitrose supports fresh food redistribution projects

The John Lewis Partnership, which owns grocery retail chain Waitrose, has made a £100,000 donation via charity partner FareShare to ensure thousands of nutritional meals reach people in need across the UK. According to The Food Foundation’s 2023 Broken Plate report, deprivation means a fifth of UK adults are consuming less fruit and veg (37 per cent less), oily fish (54 per cent less) and dietary fibre (17 per cent less).

Some four million children are also said to be living in households facing food poverty, a figure that has doubled in the past year, while food insecurity has impacted 9.3 million adults. Waitrose and John Lewis have been working with FareShare, with over 16 million meals from surplus food having been diverted from Waitrose shops and distribution centres.

This summer, Waitrose says it will connect Fareshare with its own suppliers, including Primafruit, Produce World [Burgess Farms] and Dovecote, to get healthy, good food direct from farms to families in need.

“The demand for FareShare food has skyrocketed as a result of the cost-of-living crisis, and will continue to rise throughout the summer holidays when more families rely on these vital local services to feed themselves and their loved ones.” said Claire Kerrin, commercial manager at FareShare. “We’re pleased to be working with Waitrose farms and suppliers, which offers FareShare a fantastic opportunity to distribute fresh food to those who need it, at a time when millions of people are going hungry across the UK.”

Jamie Marskell, Primafruit’s managing director, added: “Primafruit are so proud to be part of this programme, supplying the healthy fruit we source with care, to those with a real need. Working in partnership with Waitrose and FareShare this summer is a wonderful way to work towards changing lives for the better.”