FareShare is set to redistribute surplus food from Moroccan businesses trading in the UK.
The UK’s biggest food redistribution charity network has struck a deal with the Moroccan government’s food export board (Morocco Foodex) to save surplus food coming from the North African nation from going to waste.
Through the deal, Morocco – which is a big exporter of vegetables, citrus fruit and fish – will redistribute donations from its food suppliers via FareShare across the UK.
These include industry names such as olive oil producers Atlas Olive Oil and Olea Capital, preserved fruit & vegetable producer Cartier Saada, and household consumer goods group Mutandis.
“We are delighted to receive this food and drink from Morocco,” said FareShare CEO Lindsay Boswell. “Our 30 warehouses stand ready at short notice to receive good-to-eat nutritious food, from wherever it came in the supply chain, and get it to people who need it, quickly, especially at this time of year.
“The priority is making sure food isn’t wasted but goes to people – which is the best thing to do socially, environmentally and economically with surplus food.”
FareShare said it could not estimate how much surplus food this partnership would stop from going to waste as it relied heavily on the Moroccan suppliers’ availability.
But Boswell added that he hoped this would become “a long-term agreement between the Moroccan government and FareShare”.
The first donation, consisting of just over seven pallets of food, arrived at FareShare’s Southampton warehouse today (19 January).
It included 936 litres of fruit juice, 240kg of pasta, 60kg of semolina, 36 litres of extra virgin olive oil, and 28kg of green and black olives.
The delivery is then broken down into smaller quantities and redistributed through FareShare’s network of more than 10,000 charities across the country.
This partnership marks the opening of a new direct shipping route between Tangier in Morocco and Poole in Dorset. Trade between the two countries has typically had to pass through Spain.
“It is a partnership of which we are very proud, and we thank all the partners who took part in this action,” said Morocco Foodex director of promotion and development, El Mehdi El Alami.
“Through this initiative, we wish to show our friendship with the United Kingdom by letting as many people as possible taste our products, especially those in need in these difficult times.”
In 2020/2021, FareShare redistributed 55,000 tonnes of food, or the equivalent of more than 132 million meals, to charities in need across the UK.
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