M&S will invest £1m to donate over 1.5 million freshly prepared meals to families in need via food waste charity FareShare as part of the Coronation Food Project.

From September, the upmarket retailer will be sending three newly created meals, specially developed by M&S chefs, which include a vegetable curry, carrot and coriander soup, and family-sized pizza meals, to FareShare to distribute through its national network.

The meals, which are nutritionally balanced to serve between two and four people, and are freshly prepared with a guarantee of four days life from the day of donation.

They use surplus ingredients from within the grocer’s existing supply chain that might otherwise go to waste, such as fresh vegetables.

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M&S’ close relationships with its partners will also allow it to redistribute time and capacity to the effort.

It will work with one of its biggest fresh food suppliers, 2 Sisters Food Group, which has been supplying M&S for over 20 years, and will utilise capacity in its supply chain.

It follows a similar move in the eight weeks to Christmas last year when the retailer donated one million meals and, in an industry first, the meals were donated directly from the M&S’ food supply chain.

M&S food managing director Alex Freudmann said: “Making great quality, delicious and nutritious food is what we do at M&S food and we’ve been inspired by the Coronation Food Project to go further to redistribute more meals than we ever have before.

“By utilising ingredients, capacity and time available within our supply chain, we’re able to donate so much more product and ultimately help more people. I’m delighted to be able to come together with our supplier partners to support FareShare throughout the year.”