UK propels food waste management with £13M grant for surplus redistribution

The UK has granted £13.6 million (US$18.4 million) in government grants to 12 food redistribution charities across England to advance food waste management and combat food insecurity. The funding aims to redirect 19,000 metric tons of surplus food to homeless shelters, food banks, and charities.

The grants are part of The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs’ (Defra) Plan for Change, which includes the Tackling Food Surplus at the Farm Gate scheme aimed at helping charities in England boost their relationships with farmers, to ensure “edible food that might have been left in fields instead ends up on the nation’s plates.”

Waste Minister Mary Creagh says: “This government’s Plan for Change is acting on food poverty and tackling Britain’s throwaway culture, ensuring more good food ends up on plates and not in bins.”

He believes the government’s support of redistribution charities will drive closer relationships with farmers and “ensure their good food goes to those in need.”

For Catherine David, CEO of environmental NGO WRAP, the grants are a way to “supercharge” more charitable networks to capture some of the estimated 330,000 metric tons of food that could be redistributed from UK farms annually.

“In 2023, 191,000 metric tons were redistributed worth £764 million (US$1,036.5 million), enough to make 456 million meals. Redistributing from farms isn’t so advanced.”

Supporting food redistribution

Defra says that a consortium bid led by FareShare UK and its network partners, including Felix Project, will receive more than £9.2 million (US$12.4 million).

Food in Community, based in Devon, has secured more than £1.5 million (US$2 million) to partner with local farmers and food producers to redistribute surplus food.

The grants are a part of Defra’s effort to help charities in England boost their relationships with farmers.Meanwhile, City Harvest, a food charity that rescues surplus food and delivers it to more than 130,000 people a week, will receive more than £303,000 (US$411,021.5).

A significant percentage of the food farmers grow “will go to waste,” says Sarah Calcutt, CEO of City Harvest, adding that the reasons often circle around “shape and size” not meeting retailer specifications rather than health or nutrition.

“This new funding will allow us to increase the amount of food we pick up directly from farms, reduce farm costs, and further increase the amount of fresh food we can offer our customers.”

Tackling the “throwaway culture”

In November 2024, Defra set up an independent Circular Economy Taskforce to address the nation’s throwaway approach. The Taskforce brought together industry, academia, and civil society experts to tackle this challenge.

“It’s time to end Britain’s throwaway society — the status quo is economically, environmentally, and socially unsustainable,” Environment Secretary Steve Reed said in March when he announced the Taskforce.

“Moving to a circular economy is a pivotal moment for British businesses to innovate, grow, and lead the world so we can slash waste and strengthen supply chains.”

The Taskforce will focus on creating specific roadmaps to improve and reform the approach to using materials in five sectors, including agri-food. This will be underpinned by a Circular Economy Strategy, which will be published in Autumn.

Meanwhile, the UK Food and Drink Pact, managed by WRAP, is also supporting the Government’s efforts to reduce food waste, greenhouse gas emissions, and water usage to enhance the supply chain’s sustainability.

F&B giant PepsiCo also contributed to the UK’s food waste management initiatives. In April, the company invested £210,000 (US$276,539.3) in a grant by extending its partnership with FareShare to divert surplus vegetables to schools and mentor individuals for job support.