Sainsbury’s has joined forces with its own label supplier Greencore, with the aim of donating one million meals towards battling food insecurity this year.
The first new initiative will see the pair “maximise their combined resources” by manufacturing fresh meals directly for FareShare, which will then be donated to more than 8,000 frontline charities and food clubs around the UK.
Between now and the end of April, Sainsbury’s will donate 25p from every one of its By Sainsbury’s Italian Style ready meals, which include Spaghetti Bolognese and Carbonara.
The funds will then be used by Greencore to produce the meals to be specifically distributed by FareShare.
“We recognise the need for collaboration across the food industry to make significant change in addressing food insecurity,” said Richard Crampton, director of fresh food at Sainsbury’s.
“This is a focus of our ongoing work with Comic Relief and we’re delighted to be working with Greencore, a key supplier, to unlock this new way to help out and to provide good food for all.
“Together we can efficiently use our combined resources to donate fresh meals to those that need it most,” Crampton added.
It’s the latest donation campaign by launched by Sainsbury’s as part of its Nourish The Nation campaign in conjunction with Comic Relief. Throughout December, Sainsbury’s donated every penny made through lines of its own-label mince pies to fund Christmas meal donations.
In July 2024, it partnered with supplier Dolmio for a new on-pack campaign to raise funds to tackle “holiday hunger” during the school summer holiday.
The new initiative builds on Sainsbury’s long-term relationships with both Greencore – which manufactures key fresh lines for its own labels – and FareShare, through which Sainsbury’s also donates its surplus and near-to-sell-by-date food.
Sainsbury’s and Greencore were among the supermarkets and suppliers who agreed to work more closely to “transform” the way in which the sector handles surplus food, as part of the new industry body Alliance Food Sourcing which launched in November 2024, in response to a call by the King as part of his Coronation Food Project.
“We are long-standing supporters of FareShare and have also previously worked with Comic Relief on product launches to support people living in food poverty,” said Greencore CEO Dalton Philips.
“We are delighted to continue this work in collaboration with our valued customer Sainsbury’s.”
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