A report accusing supermarkets of “dumping” tonnes of damaged, out of date or nutritionally inadequate food on charities and using them as a “waste collection service” has sparked a major dispute.
Research published this week by the environmental charity Feedback Global detailed reports from front line charity workers who claimed they were often being deluged with large quantities of rotten food and unsuitable packaging that could not be used to help their causes. The charites were also being left to foot the bill for disposal, the report said.
It claimed more than 90% of food aid workers had experienced having to discard donated food, with the most common reason being the food was damaged or inedible, leaving many of them feeling frustrated, angry or sad.
However, The Grocer has spoken to several food redistribution organisations who, despite agreeing with some of the reports recommendations, vehemently dispute some of its findings.
The UK’s biggest redistribution charity FareShare said the vast majority of food it received was in a fit state to be redistributed, adding that it had developed systems to cope with surplus so that it could be diverted to animal feed or anaerobic digestion.
“FareShare works with the food industry to redistribute millions of meals worth of surplus, good-to-eat food to over 8,000 charities and community groups across the UK,” a spokeswoman told The Grocer.
“More than 96% of the food we receive is redistributed. Our regional warehouses have processes and relationships for when any surplus food cannot be consumed.”
Mark Game, founder of The Bread and Butter Thing, said: “Our experience of food redistribution is not reflected by the Feedback Global Report.
“We are the largest recipient of food surpluses from Morrisons and our experiences are that the food is of good quality and variety and the teams genuinely care and support our cause.”
Game was also scathing of Feedback’s call for the government to set up a new whistleblowing mechanism for food bank workers to report when bad quality food is repeatedly passed onto them.
“We would not support the call for whistleblowing,” he said. “If organisations are receiving surplus goods damaged or inedible, they should feed back to the suppliers.
“Businesses giving surpluses to charities would hate to think they are burdening or dumping on charities. Furthermore, if organisations only want a select few items from the offer, they should be explicit and not take it all and waste what they will not use.”
“A whistleblowing scheme would add unnecessary bureaucracy and will not short circuit any issues regarding food waste. Redistributors need to work with suppliers and feedback positively and negatively when needed.”
Feedback’s survey described how fruit and vegetables were regularly arriving in warehouses and food banks mouldy and rotting, including large quantities of bread that could not be stored and had to be thrown away.
It gave examples of 5kg bags of pasta, 3kg crates of salad and in one case 10kg of crème fraiche.
The report claimed that despite the “heroic” efforts of food aid employees, the amount of food that could not be passed on was just one reason why food poverty could not be solved by redistribution.
“The redistribution of food is quite clearly not the answer to tackling either food waste or food poverty in the UK,” said Feedback deputy director Jessica Sinclair Taylor.
“We need to stop kidding ourselves and start addressing the root causes of both to the benefit of people and planet.”
FareShare’s spokeswoman responded: “The charities we support tell us that this food helps them offer better-quality, more nutritious meals.
“Over 90% say they can provide a greater variety of food, including more fresh fruit and vegetables.
“Nearly 70% say they support more people, and one in three have started new food services.”
Game said: “Environmental organisations are correct to highlight that more work needs to be done to reduce food waste and we would never support the production of additional food or encourage surpluses to simply redistribute.
“But the wider benefits of redistribution through food clubs such as The Bread and Butter Thing go far beyond just calories.
“I have spoken to many environmental organisations over the years and continue to support the cause to reduce food waste.
“However, I have yet to find a policy or solution suggested that acknowledges and addresses the issues of access and affordability of food. Seasonal and local is expensive and 25% of the country already struggle to afford healthy food.”
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