UKHarvest is thrilled to announce that Barfoots has donated the equivalent of one million meals, an astonishing accomplishment. This equates to 420,000kgs of food, including sweetcorn, butternut squash, courgettes, sweet potatoes and asparagus.
The donation of one million meals is associated with 1,592 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) that would have been wasted.
Every item of food donated has reached households through innovative projects including Grub Club, an in-school campaign donating food to school communities and educating students about food waste, and collaborations with housing associations.
UKHarvest runs and manages 16 community food hubs, a community kitchen in London, Nourish Hub, and donates to local and national charities such as Stop Domestic Abuse and YMCA.
Its donation process is a simple and an efficient way to prevent surplus food from going to waste, as well as substantially reducing costs for the producers and helping to cut GHGs.
In a 2022 report, WWF revealed that 2.9 million tonnes of edible food not suitable for sale, was wasted, which is associated with nearly 11 million tonnes of GHGs. The financial savings of donating food are also beneficial for producers across the waste removal process, from labour to transportation.
Kim Barfoot-Brace, Brand and Marketing Manager at Barfoots, has been pivotal in the ongoing success of the relationship between UKHarvest and Barfoots. She said: “We’re proud to support UKHarvest in the fantastic work they do within our community, reducing food insecurity, and bringing people together in the process.
“We’re delighted to have reached this significant milestone. Long may our partnership continue.”
UK Harvest Operations Manager Simon Thresher said: “Working with Kim, and the team at Barfoots has not only been an incredibly prolific and proficient partnership, but we’ve strived to ensure that any food donated to UKHarvest reaches those that need it, with minimal impact on Barfoots’ incredible operations.
“We don’t charge to collect and redistribute food donations and regularly invite Barfoots staff, from the MD to pickers and packers, to join us in the warehouse, kitchen and in our community food hubs to see how their donation positively impacts on so many people.”
UKHarvest is actively seeking new partnerships and plans to keep building on the existing successes, such as the collaboration with Barfoots, and other producers and growers around the country.
If you would like to discuss how you can be part of the food rescue and redistribution operation, please visit www.ukharvest.org.uk.