Tackling food insecurity with FareShare
As one of the UK’s leading food producers, Premier Foods is able to make a significant contribution to efforts to reduce food insecurity, and we do this via a long term multi-faceted partnership with FareShare. Having worked together since 2020, Premier Foods and FareShare entered a 5 year agreement in 2022 which helps reduce and redirect food waste, raises money for the charity’s work and supports it via volunteering. This partnership will also help Premier Foods meet targets of donating 1 million meals and 1,000 volunteering days annually.
FareShare is a national network of charitable food redistributors which accesses good quality surplus food from across the industry and gets it to nearly 8,500 frontline charities and community groups.
Reducing food waste
We have a target to halve our food waste by 2030 and support our suppliers to do the same.
FareShare use their expertise to help us reduce our waste by carrying out ‘waste walks’ at our manufacturing sites and suggesting ways we can use and redistribute products that would otherwise have gone to animal feed. We work hard with our partners to share news of available food as quickly as possible so it can be redistributed to those who need it in the charity network.
Commercial support
As one of the UK’s largest food businesses, home to a stable of market leading brands, Premier Foods has a presence on retailers’ shelves and in people’s homes which can be used to help increase awareness of FareShare and its work.
Since 2021, Premier Foods has run special on-pack campaigns which offer shoppers the chance to win food vouchers and, for every prize claimed successfully, provides a matching donation to FareShare. Individual brands also carry on-pack activations to help raise funds and awareness.
Colleague contributions
As part of our Enriching Life Plan, we have a target to reach 1000 days a year of volunteering by 2030. Colleagues have the opportunity to volunteer at FareShare depots, supporting the packing, delivery, distribution and serving of food. Colleagues can also volunteer at one of the many charities in FareShare’s network.
As FareShare is the Premier Foods charity partner, they are also supported by additional fundraising activity throughout the year. This includes raffles, sample sales and special colleague lunches.
Volunteering on the ground
Since our partnership began, 176 volunteers have spent 1,124 hours supporting work at FareShare depots.
Promotional support
The "Win a Dinner, Give a Dinner" promotion in 2023 supported the distribution of 419,730 meals for FareShare.
Colleague fundraising
Colleagues Kevin Hamer and Sharon Morris walked 88 miles from our Lutterworth depot to our St Albans Head Office in three days, raising over £2,500 for FareShare.