Welsh government bodies respond to rise in food poverty

As the cost of living crisis mounts, the Welsh government has grown increasingly concerned about food poverty. One of its responses has been to fund charity programmes based around food banks or surplus donations.

FareShare Cymru is one beneficiary. Early in October, it secured a second round of funding, to support its Surplus with Purpose Cymru initiative.

The initiative will cover costs for any Welsh food & drink business looking to donate surplus, ensuring suppliers are not left out of pocket. For example, FareShare Cymru will reimburse the costs of labour if a farm harvests crops beyond its commercial needs.

Businesses can also claim for the cost of breaking down catering-sized volumes of food, labelling products to make them ready to be donated and transporting surplus to distribution sites.

The current programme is open for applications from any Welsh food & drink business, up until March 2025.

In one sense, the funding is a mark of the charity’s success, with FareShare Cymru claiming to have saved 511 tonnes of surplus food from waste in 2021, equating to almost 950,000 meals. These were passed on to organisations such as homeless shelters, school breakfast clubs and community centres.

But when seen alongside similar programmes, it is a sign of the growing prevalence of food insecurity in recent years.

In September, the Welsh government revealed it would provide £1.9m to organisations in Wales tackling the issue.

Among the recipients were Valley Pantries, which delivers affordable food to Bridgend; the Association of Voluntary Organisations in Wrexham (AVOW); and Anglesey County Council.

“Tackling food poverty and insecurity continues to be one of our main priorities. Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020, our food banks have seen a substantial increase in demand,” said Anglesey’s head of housing services Ned Michael.

In the case of AVOW, which received £91,000, there will be a small grant scheme for up to £2,000. CEO John Gallander revealed there would also be “a research project to identify provision and needs across Wrexham and to identify developmental opportunities for the network”.