How we’re working with FareShare for fairer food distribution

Last year, FareShare redistributed the equivalent of nearly 132m meals – 4 meals every second –of good-to-eat food, that would otherwise be wasted.

This food was distributed by charities to more than a million people -- mums, dads, children, grandparents, brothers, sisters, people with one job, people juggling several jobs, families that cannot work, and those who don’t even have a roof over their heads. Without FareShare, these people would go hungry.

Changing old habits

Every year, the food industry throws away 3.6 million tonnes of food. Two million of this is edible. That’s the equivalent of 1.3 billion meals for people who need them being sent to landfill or recycling every single year.

FareShare takes this food from across the industry and delivers it to where it’s needed most. But FareShare can’t do this on its own, so we’ve joined forces to help them help the 8.4 million people in the UK who don’t know where their next meal is coming from.

By donating 5p from every bag of Raw Bean filter coffee sold in Waitrose and Sainsburys stores*, we can help them get food that would otherwise go to waste, to the people who need it most. This money will be used to help get food to where it’s needed, and to provide FareShare volunteers with critical PPE.

Almost half of those 8.4million people live in what is classed as severely food insecure homes, which means the children in these homes regularly experience physical symptoms of hunger. FareShare’s own research shows that 46% of people that use the services of their charity partners have gone a whole day without a proper meal in the last month alone.

How FareShare supports fairer access to food

Without FareShare, this surplus food from across the food industry would be wasted, and 1 in 5 of the charities working with FareShare say they would have to close.  

FareShare works with more than 10,500 charity and community groups, and last year redistributed 55,046 tonnes of food, saving charities £18.5 million and making the lives of those who the charities work with a little bit better.

The benefits of redistributing food that would otherwise be wasted stretch beyond the amazing work of providing food to those who would otherwise go hungry. Fare Share’s contribution last year saved the UK economy approximately £51 million. Of the charities that work with FareShare, 77% say that the FareShare food service has improved the diet of their users, and in doing so, has transformed the lives of so many who are dependent on them. A healthier, more varied diet can contribute to improved health, better energy and fitness levels, and can also provide a sense of community. 

Whilst FareShare is  already making an incredible difference, there’s still more work to be done as 9 out of 10 charities that FareShare works with have seen unprecedented demand for food throughout the pandemic. Before the pandemic, only 10% of the charities that FareShare supported were foodbanks, but during the pandemic this increased to 50% of the charities they support.

Emmylou Orton, Senior Corporate Partnerships Manager at FareShare said: “We are very grateful to Raw Bean for choosing to work with FareShare - every bit of support makes a big difference. The money raised from the promotion will be used to help feed people all across the UK and will give us an opportunity to save even more perfectly good food from being wasted.” and we’re really looking forward to doing what we can to support FareShare in the life-changing work they are doing.

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*You can find our Raw Bean Breakfast Blend Ground Coffee, 
Deliciously Dark Ground Coffee and Definitely Decaf Ground Coffee in Waitrose and our Raw Bean Definitely Decaf Ground Coffee in Sainsburys.