Giving Vulnerable Londoners a Fair Share

Type of practice Reuse for food

Name of practice Giving Vulnerable Londoners a Fair Share

Name of main actor London Waste and Recycling Board and FareShare Community Food Network

Type of actor(s) Public authority

Location United Kingdom

Stage of implementation End-of-life

Year of implementation 2010

What was/is being done? In March 2010, the mayor of London announced that the London Waste and Recycling Board would be working with an organisation specialised in the collection of food waste which are past their date limit but still edible. FareShare Community Food Network, a charity, constructed a warehouse from a £362,000 grant to hold the food products and distribute meals to the underprivileged population of London. FareShare has been operating since 2004 as an independent charity and today has 17 locations around the UK. The Community Food Network includes over 700 local charities and organisations which receive FareShare food and other support.

Outcomes and impacts In 2010/11, the food redistributed by FareShare contributed towards more than 8.6 million meals. The redistribution of food helped businesses reduce carbon emissions by 13,950 tonnes in 2008/09. This new operation will help London avoid landfilling almost 800 tonnes of food, and over 3,500 tonnes of CO2 will be stopped from entering London’s atmosphere. With the food collected, FareShare Community Food Network hopes to supply almost 30 charities with food by the end of its first year - the equivalent of over 800,000 meals for the vulnerable.