A revamp of the FareShare depot in Edinburgh is set to help feed 2,000 more vulnerable people
A warehouse revamp has enabled an Edinburgh food charity to help feed thousands more people.
FareShare Central and South East Scotland has conducted a refit of its premises during its 20th anniversary year, enabling the charity to help feed an additional 2,000 vulnerable people each week.
And the depot in Leith, which is run by partner charity Cyrenians, has also purchased a new, larger industrial chiller – with the project funded by Asda.
The new refit and chiller has afforded FareShare Central and South East Scotland the capacity to recruit 20 new local charities. This will in turn reach an estimated 2,000 more vulnerable people each week, increasing the number of beneficiaries by almost 14% in just one year.
The Jane Street centre is one of the regional branches of FareShare UK, and one of four FareShare warehouses in Scotland. The Edinburgh depot provides quality surplus food to 136 frontline community groups and projects - including homeless hostels, school breakfast clubs, rehabilitation centres and elderly lunch clubs.
According to official statistics, one in five families in Edinburgh are living in poverty. The need for FareShare’s service has never been higher and the warehouse refit was vital in order to serve the needs of those most vulnerable in the community.
The move has been made possible thanks to investment from Asda as part of its Fight Hunger Create Change programme - a partnership between Asda, FareShare and the Trussell Trust which aims to help one million people in the UK with the food and support they need to help them out of the situation they’re in. Over the course of three years, the supermarket us investing over £20 million to enable both charities to deliver infrastructure which allows them to offer more fresh food and tackle the root causes of poverty by providing crucial support and advice to people in need.
Lynne Collie, manager at FareShare Central and South East Scotland, said: “FareShare Central and South East Scotland currently saves almost eight tonnes of food from waste each week, which in turn helps to provide over 18,500 meals to people in need – an astonishing figure which shows our commitment to fighting hunger and food waste.
“Each week we help to feed thousands at risk of hunger in our communities, but we know demand for our support is rising - which is why we welcome Asda’s generous investment.
“We’re grateful we are in a position to help more people, and if you would like to get involved either by volunteering, or donating food if you are a food business, we encourage you to get in touch.”
Neil Hay, Cyrenians head of social enterprise, said: “At Cyrenians we believe that everyone deserves to have access to life’s basic necessities. At present one in eight people aren’t able to access good quality food on a regular basis, despite a surplus of available goods.
“This additional support from Asda is vital to helping us reach even more people experiencing food insecurity, but also in our fight against unnecessary food waste which benefits everyone.”
Tim Scott, senior manager of community and campaigns at Asda, said: “By bringing FareShare and the Trussell Trust together and investing in their infrastructure and essential services, we can help thousands more vulnerable people in Edinburgh and across central and south east Scotland to access good quality fresh food.
“Ultimately, our aim is to change the face of poverty in the UK by providing much needed food to those in need and tackling the root causes of poverty, ensuring nobody goes hungry.”
For further information or to find out how your charity or community group can receive surplus food visit the FareShare website.
