Chef Tom Kerridge is teaming up with charities to demand delivery of a promised £15m fund to divert fresh but unused food from farms to food banks and soup kitchens across the country.
Repeated promises have been made by former ministers to fund the food waste reduction scheme, which effectively compensates farmers for harvesting, storing and packaging the food that would otherwise head into landfill or animal feed.
The pledge was first made by Michael Gove as environment secretary in 2018 and later reannounced by Rishi Sunak earlier this year, but the funds have never arrived. Kerridge is now speaking out, along with thousands of local charities who have signed an open letter to chancellor Rachel Reeves, asking for the scheme to be backed in this week’s budget.
The Michelin-starred chef, who grew up on a Gloucester council estate, cooking for his brother while his mother, Jackie, did two jobs, said the programme would reduce waste and provide much-needed food for those who are struggling.
“These charities are the beating heart of their communities, and they need more food to help support people in need,” he said. “The government needs to intervene and ensure that the staggering levels of good-to-eat surplus food is turned into meals for struggling families, rather than letting this food go to waste.”
Farmers are known to be keen to redistribute food where they can, but charities say the fund is needed to help cover their costs, as providing goods for redistribution is more expensive than dumping it or using it as feed or fuel. In the letter to Reeves, the charities say that food redirected by the scheme could provide up to 67m meals and be redistributed to thousands of community groups.
FareShare, one of the largest food redistribution organisations, is heavily involved. It provides surplus food to after-school and breakfast clubs, homelessness shelters and older people’s lunch clubs.
“The food redistribution sector helps transform surplus food into stronger communities,” said Kris Gibbon-Walsh, chief executive of FareShare. “These local charities turn food that would otherwise go to waste into meals, providing a gateway to other essential services that support people in need. This fund is an incredible opportunity to rescue millions of tonnes of fresh produce from our farms, and help tackle the environmental problem of food waste for social good.”
“Despite the announcement in February, the fund is in limbo while we wait for the Treasury to commit to this funding. But the frontline charities we support cannot afford to wait. The prime minister has said he wants to build a ‘society of service’, and Defra wants to prioritise a zero-waste economy – this fund is a great first step. We are ready to work with the government alongside the food redistribution sector to make these ambitions a reality.”
Charlotte Hill, who runs The Felix Project multibank in London, said it was “a scandal” that fresh British food was going to waste, despite the large number of families suffering from food insecurity. “The Felix Project recently found that 56% of working London families are having to turn to a food bank to help feed their children.” she said. “
These places are struggling with the huge demand for support and urgently need more food. This funding has the potential to unlock huge supplies of healthy and nutritious produce. It could result in millions of meals going to those who need it.”
Government sources said that ministers were committed to reducing waste and were working to drive down surplus food. The government wants to halve food waste by 2030. However, it has warned that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) had to play its part in closing a £22bn black hole in the public finances this year and that “difficult decisions” lay ahead.
The Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs said: “The amount of food we waste is a stain on our country. We are working with business to drive down food waste and make sure food is put on the plates of those in greatest need. This includes supporting surplus food to be redistributed to charities and others that can use it and on programmes to help citizens reduce their food waste. We are grateful to food producers, charities and retailers in the sector for their work in tackling this problem.”
