Robert Largan MP is backing the #FoodOnPlates campaign to stop millions of tonnes of fresh, unsold food from being wasted when it could instead go to charities and community groups feeding families.

1 in 8 people in the UK struggle to afford food—and the pandemic has resulted in many more families facing food insecurity, with 67 per cent of charities providing emergency food aid saying they would have to continue, even as restrictions ease. 

However, more than a quarter of all the prodcue grown in the UK is never eaten, representing over 6 per cent of total UK greenhouse gas emissions.

The campaign is being led by food redistribution charity FareShare, which—in the High Peak last year—redistributed the equivalent of 279,600 meals via 23 local organisations. 

They are calling for funding that would enable them to almost double the amount of food they could provide to people across the UK by saving surplus food.

The charity—backed by footballer Marcus Rashford and celebrity chefs Tom Kerridge, Prue Leith, and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall—recently beamed falling carrots onto landmarks across the capital, including the Houses of Parliament, as they called on the Government to commit to vital food waste funding.

Robert Largan, MP for High Peak, commnented:

“Charities and community organisations in the High Peak have been working tirelessly to support our community with food throughout the pandemic and beyond.

“That’s why I’m backing the #FoodOnPlates campaign to fund farmers to get their unsold fresh food to charities supporting vulnerable families, instead of having to waste it.”
Michelin-starred chef Tom Kerridge commented: 

“Wasting food is always wrong, but on this level, it’s a scandal. If farmers and food producers aren’t able to sell their food, it should be going to the frontline charities which are crying out for it, not being dumped back into the ground.”

FareShare CEO Lindsay Boswell commented:  

“I’m very pleased to be working with Robert Largan MP.

“Our network of frontline charities have been a lifeline for families during the pandemic, and, sadly, demand now remains at similar levels.

“It’s a scandal that good food is left to rot in our fields, or be thrown into biogas digesters or landfill when so many families are still dependent on food aid in the wake of the crisis, with thousands more unable to afford healthy fruit and veg.

“France rescues six times more unsold food than we do in the UK; in part thanks to tax breaks that cover the additional costs of getting that food to charities.

“That’s why we’re calling on the UK Government to reinstate landmark funding to save good food and get it onto people’s plates.”