Supermarkets wasting 200,000 tonnes of food that could go to needy, say charities
Hundreds of thousands of tonnes of surplus food that could be going to hungry families is going to waste as supermarkets restrict who their suppliers can give it to, according to food distribution charities.
Several independent charities, which are grouped together under the Xcess network, say they struggle to source unwanted edible food from manufacturers and processors because of supermarkets’ rules about the handling of their own-label products.
At least 200,000 tonnes of own-label food fit for human consumption ends up as animal food or is used to generate energy, according to research by the sustainability group Anthesis, because of difficulties in getting it to the right place.
Mark Game, the chief executive of the charity The Bread and Butter Thing, a food club that hands out heavily discounted food parcels to 25,000 registered members, said: “Retailers hold the cards – unless they say yes to manufacturers, they just can’t give [the food] out.
“Demand constantly outstrips supply and we are having to let people down, and if we had this food we could do more.”
David France, the manager of the Lancaster-based community food club Eggcup, said it was impossible to get hold of the food without the retailers’ permission.
“As a fairly new organisation with a tremendous level of growth, we have not been able to establish relationships with larger organisations,” he said. “It is ridiculous how much food is being thrown away because retailers have contracts with larger [charities], which aren’t always able to use that surplus.”
About half the food we buy every year comes from supermarkets’ own brands, and it is estimated that they make up more than 72% of edible surplus food in supermarkets’ supply chains, according to the Anthesis
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