Lindsay Haddon, AAF advisory member, and Holly Howells, Trusts and Grants Manager, FareShare UK.
The partnership between AGCO Agriculture Foundation and UK food waste charity FareShare will hopefully redistribute more than one million meals across two years
AGCO Agriculture Foundation awards funding to food redistribution charity FareShare
- Two-year partnership expected to secure 475 tonnes of surplus food and redistribute more than 1 million meals.
- $300,000 grant to help food reach vulnerable communities across the UK.
- Support for Surplus with Purpose project, covering the cost for farmers to harvest and divert food that would otherwise be wasted.
The AGCO Agriculture Foundation (“AAF”) has provided a $300,000 grant fund for UK charity FareShare to help redistribute and prevent excess food from farms going to waste.
FareShare, the UK’s largest charity tackling food waste, aims to ensure surplus food reaches the most vulnerable in the community. With the support from AAF, FareShare will be able to help farmers harvest surplus food that might otherwise be left in the field and divert the food through FareShare channels.
Through the grant award, which is part of a two-year climate action partnership between AAF and FareShare, every tonne of surplus food redistributed through the project could save approximately 1.6 tonnes of embedded CO2, while preventing up to another 3.8 tonnes from harmful alternative disposal. The partnership is expected to secure 475 tonnes of surplus food and allow the redistribution of more than one million meals to vulnerable communities across the UK.
Through the Surplus with Purpose project, FareShare will support labour to remove produce from fields and enable distribution, which should help growers address excess produce that cannot be marketed. AAF supports surplus food projects which contribute to four of The United Nations' 17 Sustainable Development Goals: Zero Hunger, Good Health and Well-being, Climate Action and Responsible Consumption and Production.
Roger Batkin, Board Chair of AAF, says the support will be vital to households across the country.
"Our support of the FareShare surplus food project comes at a crucial time and aligns with the Foundation's vision to prevent and relieve hunger. We hope to support the food needs of vulnerable households while combating climate change at both ends of the food chain by tackling food waste,” commented Mr Batkin.
FareShare has 34 centres across the UK from Inverness to Truro and provided 128 million meals during 2022, which equates to approximately four meals each second. Lindsay Boswell, Chief Executive Officer of FareShare, explained "This partnership will help us further our reach and make a meaningful difference in getting surplus food from farms to people's plates. We should never be wasting good food, especially not amid a cost-of-living crisis. FareShare is grateful to the AAF for extending their funding to the UK at this crucial time.”
For more information on the AGCO Agriculture Foundation, please visit
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