Waste Not Want Not logo

Sir, We very much welcome your Waste Not Want Not campaign, which is timely as many companies - including our own - continue to make great strides on the issue.

Addressing the challenge of food waste through various schemes has always been important to us, and since November we have been working with FareShare to redistribute branded surplus products in Yorkshire and Greater Manchester.

We are delighted to report that in just six months we have provided more than 19 tonnes of surplus food through the scheme - equivalent to 45,477 meals for people in need. We are now reaching out to our retail partners to get agreement to donate our own-label products. As a result of this, we have started with one of our key partners and are looking to see how we can roll this out across our customer base.

But it’s the human story behind getting to grips with food waste that really brings the issue to the forefront. One of the FareShare Yorkshire charity members to have benefited from Kerry Foods products this quarter is a community centre that supports people living in the Meadow Well Estate area of North Shields to raise their aspirations and wellbeing in an area with high levels of poverty.

At the centre of this support is a meeting point where food surpluses from FareShare Yorkshire are used in breakfast and lunch clubs, and cooking lessons, not only ensuring that the food doesn’t go to waste but that it serves and even higher purpose in bringing the community together.

Phil Cater, demand planning manager, Kerry Foods