The AGCO Agriculture Foundation (AAF), a private foundation with the vision to prevent and relieve hunger through sustainable agricultural development, announced a USD 300,000 grant to FareShare to ensure surplus food reaches vulnerable communities in the United Kingdom, while tackling food waste.
The two-year partnership is expected to help FareShare secure 475 tonnes of surplus food and redistribute more than one million meals. The project will assist in growing the award-winning Surplus with Purpose Fund, which covers the cost for farmers to harvest and divert food that would have otherwise been wasted.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates that food waste contributes between 8 and 10 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, so tackling food waste is a pressing issue. The funding will also directly help agricultural businesses by reducing the environmental effect of food waste through interventions to harvest fresh surplus products such as fruit and vegetables. Over the next 24 months, for every tonne of surplus food FareShare and AAF redistribute through this project, approximately 1.6 tonnes of embedded CO2 could be saved, and another 3.8 tonnes could be prevented from harmful alternative disposal.
“As a foundation, our support of the FareShare surplus food project comes at a crucial time and aligns with AAF’s vision to prevent and relieve hunger. We hope to support the food needs of these vulnerable households while combating climate change at both ends of the food chain by tackling food waste,” said Roger Batkin, Board Chair, AGCO Agriculture Foundation.
The AAF-funded surplus food project contributes to four of The United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals: Zero Hunger, Good Health and Well-being, Climate Action and Responsible Consumption and Production. The project will supply food for thousands of vulnerable people, tackle food waste to address climate change impact, improve overall well-being through access to good nutrition and provide a scalable solution to rescue food.
“We should never be wasting good food, especially not amid a cost-of-living crisis. Millions of people are struggling with the rise in food prices, fuel and household bills. We’ve seen the impact of demand for food across our network skyrocketing. FareShare is grateful to the AAF for extending their funding to the UK at this crucial time. This partnership will help us further our reach and make a meaningful difference in getting surplus food from farms to people’s plates,” said Lindsay Boswell, Chief Executive Officer of FareShare.
