£6m available to reduce food waste as second round of government funding opens
Melanie May | 14 May 2019 | News
Charities and other organisations can now apply for funding to help further reduce food waste.
The government is inviting organisations to apply for the second round of more than £6 million funding under its scheme to slash food waste. The fund aims to help charities and other organisations better handle and distribute leftover food by enabling them to invest in infrastructure such as weighing equipment, storage solutions, warehouses, industrial freezers and fridges, labelling equipment and vehicles.
New figures show that redistribution of surplus food in the UK has almost doubled in the last three years, with enough food saved to produce the equivalent of 133 million meals a year.
Currently around 55,000 tonnes of surplus food is redistributed from retailers and food manufacturers every year. It is estimated a further 100,000 tonnes of food – equating to 250 million meals a year – is edible and readily available but goes uneaten. Instead, this food is currently sent away for generating energy from waste, anaerobic digestion, or animal feed.
Environment Secretary Michael Gove said:
“Every year, millions of tonnes of good, nutritious food is thrown away. Today I am opening the second round of funding to help organisations ensure that food is not thrown away, but goes to those most in need.”
The funding is the second round of a £15 million scheme announced last year by the Environment Secretary to specifically address surplus food from retail and manufacturing.
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About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.