A REDDITCH firm has helped save multiple tonnes of food from going to waste, providing millions of meals to those in need.

The UK’s national network of charitable food redistributors, FareShare, is made up of 18 independent organisations using quality surplus food from the food industry and redistributing it to support some 8,500 frontline charities and community groups, with Oakland International, based in Redditch, supporting the charity over the last 18 months.

Dale Fiddy, the non-executive director of the supply chain solutions provider, said: “Our ongoing FareShare partnership keeps on going from strength to strength with last year’s food savings speaking volumes.

“Of the millions of meals provided they have directly benefitted people in our society most in need including families struggling with the cost-of-living crisis to the homeless, and it’s extremely important that together we continue to develop and expand our capabilities and increase the amount of support we provide to the FareShare team.”

Redditch Advertiser:

Working in partnership, Oakland and FareShare in 2023 helped save 6,068 tonnes of food, supported 5,193 charities and created 14.2 million meals.

New projects for Oakland include a high care food reprocessing area and vegetable processing line, capable of dealing with large catering packs of frozen, chilled and ambient products, and the ability to wash, slice or dice, pack and freeze raw vegetables which helps to extend shelf-life and are then repacked and distributed through the FareShare network.

Carl Hawkes, director of operations at FareShare, said: “We’re incredibly grateful to the support from Oakland International, who have been instrumental in helping us tackle the environmental impact of food waste in order to support our network of charities and community groups across the UK. Working with Oakland has allowed us to develop innovative schemes to extend the shelf life of food, reducing carbon emissions while getting food to people who need it.”