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Brighton foodies help fight food poverty
Members of the local food industry helped raise over £440 for food charity, FareShare Brighton and Hove on Thursday 8 December. Invited by the Mayor of Brighton and Hove, guests gathered in the Mayor’s Parlour for a lively evening with refreshments, prizes and an address by Lindsay Boswell, Chief Executive of FareShare UK.
Guests included members of the local food industry such as Tim Cutress, co-owner of Forfars Bakery. Tim said: “I have had a great evening and really enjoyed meeting other FareShare supporters. I am very proud of the relationship we have with FareShare and I enjoy seeing their van come everyday to collect our surplus bread and cakes. It’s a great feeling to know that our surplus food goes to people in need and not wasted.” Also attending was Sue Addis, owner of the Donatello restaurant group, and Peter Deadman, co-founder of Infinity Foods.
Getting into the spirit of giving
Guests were encouraged to participate in the main event of the night, a fun prize draw with prizes donated by local attractions and businesses. There was a party atmosphere throughout the evening as guests bought their tickets. During the draw guests were excited by the unusual variety of prizes, choosing prestigious prizes such as a personal training session with Brighton’s Samuel Pont, six belly-dancing classes with Hilde Cannoodt, and a hand casting kit from Brighton’s Body Casting Studio.
FareShare Brighton and Hove has been fighting food poverty for nearly 10 years by redistributing good quality surplus food from the food industry to projects catering for people in need. So far this year, food manufacturers and retailers have donated over 250 tonnes of food to FareShare Brighton and Hove, who have then delivered it to over 40 organisations in the city. The food goes to night shelters, community centres and hospices where people who are experiencing food poverty can go for hot meals and hand-outs.
Nathan Au, Project Manager of FareShare Brighton and Hove said: “We had a fantastic evening and I want to say a big thank-you to everyone who donated and helped with the event. £440 will make a huge difference and will help us to continue delivering food to those whom society often provides so little.”
We would like to extend our warmest thanks to all those who donated prizes:
Monroe's Hair Salon
Bookers
Moulsecoomb Leisure Centre
Peter Basterfield
Donatellos (Sue Addis)
Brighton Body Casting Studio
Sea Life Centre
Yellowave Leisure
Royal Pavilion
Brighton Racecourse
Samuel Pont Training
Galít Mersand
Dakini Belly Dancing (Tara Dakini)
Hilde Cannoodt
Cocoa Loco (The Chocolate Barn Hill House Farm)
And also a big thank-you to Henry Butlers Wine Cellar and Elwood Wines for donating wine for the evening.
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Brighton shoppers help donate over 1 million meals!
On 26th November, Sainsbury’s customers helped feed those in need. We’re delighted to reveal that the Million Meal Appeal has been a success.
The generosity of Sainsbury’s customers has been overwhelming and with Sainsbury’s matching their customers’ contributions, FareShare can provide a staggering 1.2 million meals for vulnerable people.
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600 Sainsbury’s stores took part in the appeal, and customers helped by donating store cupboard staples, such as tins, packets and dried foods that complement the fresh food that FareShare receives from the food industry, making our resources go that bit further.
Volunteers from FareShare Brighton and Hove helped to support the campaign at three local stores in Lewes Road, New England Street and Old Shoreham Road.
Deputy Manager at the store in west Hove, Kenny Pridmore (pictured) said: “The response to our campaign was absolutely overwhelming. At one point customers were queuing to place their items into the FareShare trolley! It is great to see that even in these is difficult economic times our customers are willing to support a fantastic cause. I think the best thing about FareShare is that it makes a real impact to our local community.”
What happens with the food now…
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This week, FareShare Brighton and Hove received nearly 6 pallets of donated food and has started to distribute it to its partner charities. FareShare Brighton and Hove Project Manager, Nathan Au said: “We help over 40 organisations in Brighton and Hove support some of the most vulnerable people in our society.
A million thanks to everyone who supported the “1 Million Meal Appeal”!
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FareShare Brighton and Hove asks local food suppliers for helping hand.
24 October 2011
This week Brighton food charity, FareShare Brighton and Hove, are calling on the local food industry to re-think their surplus food. Recently released figures show a 20% rise in demand for food as people in Brighton and Hove are struggling to feed their families. With rising food prices and government cutbacks, many of the poorest and most vulnerable people in Brighton and Hove are finding themselves hungry and having to turn to local food charities.
FareShare Brighton and Hove is tackling this food poverty by providing good quality surplus food from the food industry to projects in the city that cater for vulnerable and needy groups. FareShare Brighton and Hove Project Manager, Nathan Au said: “Without the support of the UK and local food industry, we could not continue our work to fight food poverty. In the last year, FareShare Brighton and Hove has delivered over 200 tonnes of surplus food, including fresh fruit and vegetables, ready meals and staples such as bread and pasta, contributing to thousands of meals each week. The food is distributed to community organisations providing not only food, but other essential support services. We distribute daily to organisations such as homeless hostels, day centres, breakfast clubs, and women’s refuges.”
Many food manufacturers and wholesalers deliver their surplus food to FareShare charities as an effective and ethical way to manage their waste. Latest statistics from leading waste advisor, WRAP, shows that the UK food supply chain wastes around 6.5 million tonnes of food a year. Much of this food is good quality, fit-for-purpose food.
Shoreham based food manufacturer, Higgidy Pies, has been providing their surplus food to Brighton and Hove FareShare for 4 years. Camilla, founder of Higgidy Pies explains: “Last year, FareShare provided enough surplus food for 6.7 million meals for Britain’s most vulnerable. Surplus food can be generated for a number of reasons – packaging faults, over-ordering and even adverse weather conditions – FareShare works to rescue this perfectly good excess food from the supply chain and manufacturers like Higgidy. We are a firm supporter of them and in addition to supplying FareShare with our excess pies, last year Higgidy launched a new pie – called Pie To Share, which is a slightly bigger version of its standard pie and designed to share and 5p from the sales of every one of this particular pie is being donated to FareShare.”
Nathan continued: “It is great when food manufacturers such as Higgidy Pies recognise the benefits of using FareShare to redistribute their surplus food. At a time when more and more people are struggling to afford a healthy diet for themselves or their family, we would like more support from food manufacturers and wholesalers.”
To get in contact with FareShare Brighton and Hove, please phone Nathan on 01273 671111, or email him at info@faresharebrightonandhove.org.uk.
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Scrumptious apples!
28 September 2011
FareShare volunteers had a delicious and fun time at Stamner Park’s Apple Day on Sunday 28 September. We sampled some of the fresh, organic delights, soaked up the sun and chatted to fellow apple fans.
“Where do your apples come from?” we were asked.
Tonnes of good quality apples are thrown away every year by the food industry, while thousands of people in the UK struggle to afford fresh fruit and vegetables.
In the last year, FareShare Brighton and Hove saved over two tonnes of apples from going to landfill and delivered them to projects to feed a variety of people in need. Most of these apples come from catering companies such as Brakes, however we have also received crates of apples from local farmers producing a surplus of apples.
Joining us at the Apple Day festival was Gwen, a volunteer at the Haven, a small community organisation providing support, advice and activities for people in the surrounding area.
Gwen said “I loved Apple Day, it was great to learn more about FareShare from the volunteers, Tracey and Liz.
"The Haven started three years ago, and we have people from all walks of life coming to socialise, get advice, and learn new skills.
"We started a food bank with food from FareShare this year. Many of the people who come for the food are on low incomes and struggle to pay for food by the end of the week, others are single parents or vulnerable adults. It is great for us to know that they are getting fresh fruit and vegetables in their diet at least a couple of days a week.”
Apple Day was organised by Brighton Permaculture Trust to celebrate Brighton and Hove Food and Drink Festival, ongoing this September.
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FareShare are recruiting!
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| 28 March 2012 |
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We are looking for a part time Fundraising and Communications Officer.
Deadline for applications is 16 April.
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Calling all food suppliers!
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| 24 October 2011 |
| We ask the local food industry to re-think their suplus food, whilst looking to current supplies for inspiration. |
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Scrumptious Apples!
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| 28 September 2011 |
| We celebrated Apple Day at Stamner Park with a volunteer from the Haven, a community organisation in Brighton. |
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