Government Awards £13.6 Million to Charities Tackling Food Waste Through Surplus Redistribution

The UK government has announced £13.6 million in funding for 12 food redistribution charities, aiming to rescue thousands of tonnes of surplus produce that would otherwise go to waste on farms across the country.

As part of its Plan for Change, the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) explained that this funding will help divert more than 19,000 tonnes of perfectly edible surplus food away from the bin and into the hands of families and community organisations that need it most.

The initiative, known as the Tackling Food Surplus at the Farm Gate scheme, aims to foster stronger relationships between farmers and charities. The goal is urgent yet straightforward: to get more fresh produce directly into food banks, shelters, and local community kitchens.

Among the largest recipients of the grant is FareShare UK, along with its partners, including The Felix Project, which will receive more than £9.2 million. City Harvest is also set to receive £303,000 to support its efforts in reaching around 130,000 people each week. In Devon, Food in Community will be granted £1.5 million to grow its network of local farm partners and scale up its outreach.

Waste Minister Mary Creagh CBE MP said: “This Government’s Plan for Change is acting on food poverty and tackling Britain’s throwaway culture, ensuring more good food ends up on plates and not in bins.”

City Harvest CEO Sarah Calcutt added: “This new funding will allow us to increase the amount of food we pick up directly from farms, reduce farm costs and increase further the amount of fresh food we can offer our customers.”

WRAP chief executive Catherine David also welcomed the move, highlighting the untapped opportunity at the farm level.

“These Government grants will go a long way to supercharge more charitable networks to capture some of the estimated 330,000 tonnes of food that could be redistributed from UK farms every year and use it for good in communities around the country,” David said.

In parallel with the funding, the government has launched a Circular Economy Taskforce. This group will begin exploring long-term reform strategies, starting with critical sectors such as agriculture and food. A complete Circular Economy Strategy is expected to follow later this autumn.

This announcement comes on the heels of new data from sustainability nonprofit WRAP, which revealed that in 2023, more than 191,000 tonnes of surplus food were redistributed across the UK. That’s enough to create around 456 million meals — a powerful reminder of the impact food rescue efforts can have.