Defra grants £13.6m to combat farm food waste

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has announced that it is offering grants totalling £13.6m to help 12 charities across England, including City Harvest, Food in Community and FareShare, as well as schoolchildren. The aim is to redistribute an estimated 19,000 tonnes of food directly from farms to help families and fight food poverty in communities.

Community kitchens, food banks, shelters and cookery projects across the country are all set to receive food through these organisations thanks to the grant scheme. It follows the establishments of an independent Circular Economy Taskforce to tackle the nation’s throwaway approach.

‘Turbocharging circularity’
David Gudgeon, head of external affairs for Reconomy Connect, said: “Closing the circularity gap requires urgent, practical steps to keep resources in use for longer, and food surplus redistribution is a powerful example of this principle in action. As we shift away from a throwaway culture, it’s encouraging to see greater alignment between environmental sustainability and social impact, and we hope Defra will consider more action like this to turbocharge circularity in the food production sector.”

You may also be interested in…