The war in Iran has left redistribution charities facing a full-blown “food crisis”, with demand for supplies beginning to soar while redistribution costs look set to skyrocket due to rising prices and shortages.
Leading charities told The Grocer that the redistribution sector was staring at a “cliff-edge” when it came to securing the supply that was needed from farmers and other suppliers hit by the crisis.
The Felix Project and FareShare said that while they were poised to provide essential support, rising fuel prices were also hitting their costs. They warned that teams across the country were already growing concerned about delivery capacity in the face of the growing need.
Charlotte Hill, CEO of The Felix Project and FareShare, said demand from vulnerable groups had already been outstripping supply before the war. But the huge global instability and supply chain chaos it threatened meant that the sector was now “bracing for a food crisis”, she added.
“We are working with the government to explore policy options to enable the redistribution sector to unlock more surplus from the supply chain at this time of uncertainty,” Hill said.
“Concerns are growing across the sector that today’s global challenges could lead to a food crisis here in the UK, by raising the price of essential products and hampering the efforts of organisations that support people in need.
“The supply-side problem is two-fold. Some products simply can’t get to market because of risks to global shipping and rising fuel prices push up the price of everything.
“Add to that the challenges being faced elsewhere in the supply chain – with fertiliser, for example – and the problems we’re seeing today could be even worse in the months to come.
“International instability is already having a local impact, and the poorest are hardest hit.”
Mark Game, founder of Manchester-based charity The Bread and Butter Thing, said the conflict was making an already perilous situation for many families even worse.
“On demand, we’re seeing sustained pressure from households whose budgets were already stretched,” he told The Grocer.
“The shocks from the war didn’t create that pressure but it has intensified it. What’s notable is that demand isn’t spiking and then falling back – it’s becoming structurally higher, reflecting how many households are living with ongoing, rather than temporary, financial strain.”
Game explained that the pressure was being felt most in the cost of redistribution.
“Costs have risen sharply, particularly across fuel, warehousing and labour, while redistribution is still often expected to absorb these costs.
“At the same time, in parts of the wider system, it can still be cheaper to dispose of food than to redistribute it once logistics and compliance are factored in. That imbalance is being exposed more clearly.”
He added: “However, the industry has learnt from other recent shocks, such as the war in Ukraine and Covid and was benefiting from systems that were now in place to ensure the groups most at risk of food poverty were prioritised.
“There is growing recognition that if we are serious about food security, we need systems that can identify, aggregate and move surplus food at scale, and do so reliably,” he said.
“Food clubs and redistribution models are already demonstrating what this can look like in practice: consistent, community-based access to affordable food that helps households stay steady and avoid crisis.
“Events like war don’t create these challenge but they do accelerate change.
“They shine a light on where the system is under strain, but also on where it is evolving, and where there is real potential to build something more resilient, efficient and fair.”
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