Food distribution charity, FareShare has seen a decline in food donations from supermarkets as grocery retailers continue to focus on reducing the amount of food waste they generate.
The drop comes at the same time as the need for food bank services has surged among the UK public.
According to a report from the BBC, FareShare has seen supermarket surplus donations drop by 200 tonnes each month across the summer. In response, the charity is writing to major retailers to ask for more contributions.
“If you’re a community group trying to make a meal, out of say, beetroot, that’s really hard. Whereas the retail food is very mixed. It’s much easier for our charities and beneficiaries to make meals out of what they send,” FareShare head of network, Carl Hawkes told the BBC.
The drop in donations comes as many of the UK’s leading grocery retailers are looking to reduce the amount of food wasted within their businesses.
Earlier this week, Big 4 grocer Tesco announced it would be accelerating its target of cutting food waste in half, bringing it forward by five years to 2025.
In August, discount retailer Lidl revealed it would be selling stunted fruit and vegetables in a bid to reduce food waste and supermarket giants including Asda, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, Aldi and M&S removed the best before dates from many products across their fruit and vegetable lines in a bid to stop food being thrown away too early.
Hawkes added: “Supermarkets at the moment are more willing to sell wonky fruit and veg than they may previously have done, or to sell food with slightly less shelf life on it – and that food would traditionally have come to us.”
Despite the reported decline in contributions, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Asda and Waitrose have said their donations remain steady.
