A thousand charities today call on Rishi Sunak to pay for surplus food to go to hard-up families battling the cost-of-living crisis.
The amount of food wasted by Britain’s food industry every year is enough to feed every person in the UK three meals a day, plus a snack, for a month, research suggests.
More than three million tonnes of good-to-eat food is wasted on UK farms every year - the equivalent of 6.9 billion meals.
Meanwhile, up to 14m people, including four million children, are “food insecure”.
Injecting £25million a year could put 100m meals on the tables of the poorest households, according to Fareshare.
Backed by 1,020 charities, the organisation said: “FareShare has calculated that by committing £25m per year the Government could deliver 42,500 tonnes of surplus food – the equivalent of 100m meals – to those experiencing food insecurity.
“The majority of this funding would make it cost-neutral for farmers and food businesses to redistribute their surplus food by paying for labour, packaging and transport.”
Chief executive Lindsay Boswell added: "Every day, more and more people struggle to feed themselves and their families.
“Charities providing food and services to communities hit by the cost-of-living crisis struggle to keep up with skyrocketing demand.
“Meanwhile, a staggering amount of good-to-eat food is going to waste on farms and in factories.”
Recent polling found 88% of voters believe surplus food should be donated to people and charities - and 78% think the Government should do more to help charities access unwanted food.
Some 1,020 organisations have signed an open letter to Mr Sunak calling on the Government to act.
“The UK has a hunger crisis and your Government is absent,” they tell the Prime Minister.
“Charities like us who provide food to people in need are struggling: we can’t get enough food to support the growing number of people driven to food poverty by the cost-of-living crisis.
“The food industry continues to give charities record amounts of food, going above and beyond to provide food and support the millions of people facing hunger.
“The public, many of whom are facing economic hardship, have been incredibly generous with donations and given their time through volunteering.
“Everyone else has stepped up, and we are calling on the Government to do the same.”
FareShare has laid out several ways to pay for the scheme, including diverted anaerobic digestion subsidies and raiding dormant bank accounts.
It estimates funding food redistribution would save the Government £140m in costs avoided through the services provided by the charities.
Mr Boswell said: "We have yet to meet a politician who does not support the idea that food that is surplus should be used to strengthen our communities before it becomes waste, and we have had lots of positive responses.
“But what is needed is action and action now.
“The charities that rely on FareShare's food provide vital community care, ultimately saving the Government money.
“They all agree, and the public agrees - it's time the Government stepped up and turned these warm words into reality."
A Government spokesman said: “Nobody wants to see good food go to waste, which is why we are leading the global effort to reduce food waste with a commitment to halve it by 2030.
“We continue to support WRAP in their delivery of initiatives to help businesses measure and act on their food waste, and have helped redistribution groups – such as Fareshare – with nearly £13m of funding to get surplus food to those who need it.
“Together, this action will help drive down the levels of food unnecessarily going to waste.
“We are also providing substantial help to households, with the first of five Cost of Living Payments – worth £301 – hitting bank accounts from this Spring.”
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