An innovative project saving surplus food from being wasted has delivered around 1,000 meals a week to charities and has been shortlisted for a national award.
Nottingham City Council’s meal production project in partnership with FareShare Midlands, FareShare UK and Sainsbury’s has been going from strength to strength since its launch in July last year.
In recognition of our work with FareShare the council has been nominated for a prestigious Public Sector Catering Award for Sustainability. The awards celebrate the work of individuals, teams and organisations in the catering industry that work to make a difference whether that be in schools, universities, NHS or local government.
Nottingham City Councillor Cheryl Barnard, Portfolio Holder for Children and Young People and Education, said: “This important project is reducing the environmental impact of food waste while bringing healthy food to community groups. The project is giving volunteers valuable opportunities to develop their skills, take part in training, improve their employability and improve mental wellbeing. The meals created have been of an excellent standard and it is evident that the meals are making a difference to people who receive them.”
The FareShare team has been creating delicious meals that make a difference to local people in need and saving food from going to waste. FareShare Midlands are using the commercial kitchen at Loxley House, Nottingham City Council’s HQ, to make meals from surplus food from the food industry that would otherwise be thrown away. The meals are delivered to local charities dealing with poverty, isolation and the cost of living crisis.
By the end of December 2022, the kitchen had:
- Saved eight tonnes of surplus food going to waste, equivalent to 20 tonnes CO2
- Distributed 6.8 tonnes of food, equivalent to 19,428 meals
- Cooked, frozen and delivered around 1,000 meals per week
- Registered 19 Nottingham charitable groups to receive meals.
Surplus food is sourced by FareShare from local suppliers across the Midlands. The fresh produce FareShare receive is always seasonal. It’s sourced from growers when they are harvesting quantities of fruits or vegetable surplus to requirements. Currently the project has a glut of celeriac they are putting into meals.
Fareshare has also began accessing and unlocking new surplus food from manufacturing. This food, sometimes termed ‘work in progress’, lends itself to cooking activities as the food is already part-prepared and part-cooked. By accessing this surplus food, they can cook more community meals quickly and save more food from going to waste.
Volunteers are vital to running the project and the FareShare team at Loxley House includes two chefs and a team of over 20 volunteers. Through their experience in the kitchen, volunteers are able to develop their confidence, social connections as well as improve their employability skills.
