With a shared commitment to fighting food insecurity and food waste Sodexo and food redistribution charity FareShare have been working together since 2005 and are celebrating the total financial support donated from the company’s Stop Hunger Foundation reaching an £1.5m.
Over the duration of its partnership the financial support has helped cover the logistics costs which form a huge part of the charity’s operation, enabling it to increase the volume of surplus food being redistributed across its charity network, helping to redistribute the equivalent of five million meals to those in need.
Volunteering also plays a vital role in the partnership and to mark this special milestone a series of volunteering opportunities were offered to the company’s employees, clients and suppliers with FareShare and its partners throughout National Volunteering Week. In total 76 volunteers clocked up over 350 hours of volunteering over an eight-day period.
Volunteers spent time at FareShare and its partner’s depots across the UK, from Edinburgh, Newcastle, Liverpool andLeeds in the north, to Birmingham, London and right down to Brighton in the south, with their efforts resulting in the equivalent of 25,754 meals being redistributed to those in need.
The company’s volunteering programme is part of its commitment to fighting food insecurity both in the UK and Ireland as well as across the globe. Every year it enables employees to three paid days to participate in volunteering activity with charities such as FareShare. This provides the chance to deliver social impact to their local communities as well as providing opportunities for team-building, improved wellbeing, as well as the development of personal and professional skills.
In 2022-2023 FareShare redistributed 54,000 tonnes of food, equivalent to four meals every second, supporting around 8,500 charities and community projects nationwide. The frontline charities who receive food from FareShare are reporting skyrocketing demand for their services as the cost of living crisis drives millions into food poverty. These charities use food to help tackle the root causes of poverty, and provide vital services including homelessness shelters, lunch clubs for elderly people suffering with isolation, and support with issues including debt, employment and mental health.
