Ministers pledge £15m towards tackling food waste and feeding communities
Share:
The initiative, expected to save as many as 60 million meals, comes amid a long term increase in the use of food banks in the UK. Charities have welcomed the government’s pledge to put £15m towards delivering thousands of tonnes of food that might otherwise go to waste to those who need it most, an initiative expected to save as many as 60 million meals.
![[The funding announcement was welcomed by the Felix Project and FareShare]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2022/09/18/18/DEATH%20Queen%20Food%2017031881.jpg)
The funding, originally pledged by Rishi Sunak in February 2024, was temporarily delayed following the general election but was confirmed by the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs on Friday. The announcement was welcomed by the Felix Project and FareShare - charities fighting food waste and hunger in the UK - who said the funding marks a step towards a zero-waste Britain.
Charlotte Hill, the Felix Project’s chief executive, said it is a “scandal to see food grown on UK farms going to waste, especially given the increasing number of people experiencing food insecurity”. “This £15m funding has the potential to unlock huge supplies of healthy and nutritious produce and help the Felix Project deliver even more meals in 2025”, she added.
“The Felix Project found 1 in 8 working London families use a food bank every week to help feed their children. We deliver to around 1,200 community organisations, all working hard to feed people living with food insecurity, but the demand is so much more.
“We have a long waiting list of organisations desperately wanting food, but we do not have it to give.”. It comes amid a long term increase in the use of food banks in the UK, with the Trussell Trust, an anti-poverty charity that operates a network of food banks across the UK, reporting a 37 per cent increase in demand for food parcels between 2021/22 and 2022/23, and another 4 per cent increase between 2022/23 and 2023/24.
