Labor ministers are backing plans for a £15m fund to redistribute food from farms that goes to waste, particularly over Christmas.
Grants starting at £20,000 will go to the UK's not-for-profit food redistribution sector to repack and deliver farm food to homeless shelters, food banks and charities.
The pledge was first taken by Michael Gove in 2018 and again by Rishi Sunak in 2024, but was never enacted despite years of campaigning by charities.
Hundreds of charities and chef Tom Kerridge wrote an open letter this autumn calling on the Labor government to reinstate the scheme and include funding in the budget.
Approximately 330,000 tonnes of edible food is wasted on farms or used as animal feed each year. Charities say they often lack the means to collect and deliver food, including festive foods such as Brussels sprouts and potatoes, to those in need.
Food distribution charities in the UK will be able to apply for grants starting from £20,000 under a government scheme. The funding can be used to buy equipment to collect and process bulky food items, technology to help farms and charities work together, and IT training for staff.
Circular Economy Minister Mary Cree said: “As families gather to celebrate Christmas and the New Year, it is important to remember those in our communities who may be going hungry over this festive period.
“No one wants to see good food go to waste, especially the farmers who work so hard to put food on the tables of families across the country. Our new fund will help the charity sector work with farmers to It will help us find new opportunities to work more closely together and bring world-leading agricultural products to those in our communities who need them most.”
In a joint statement, the chief executives of two food redistribution charities, Charlotte Hill of The Felix Project and Chris Gibbon-Walsh of FairShare, said: . I'm glad the government recognized that too much food is wasted on our farms and should be redistributed to feed those who need it. ”
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Harriet Lamb, chief executive of global environmental NGO Wrap, said the announcement was a good start for the new year by ensuring that both food charities and the agricultural sector can make immediate changes and develop long-term solutions. It will be a start.” The amount of surplus food being redistributed is increasing every year, and unfortunately, the need for it is also increasing. ”
Further details about the fund and its eligibility criteria are expected to be announced in the new year. The Government has formed a Circular Economy Taskforce which will publish a strategy next year on how different sectors in the UK can reduce waste. The government wants to halve food waste by 2030.
