Our visit to FareShare Yorkshire, Sheffield Mutual Charity Award runners up 2024

The winners of our 2024 Sheffield Mutual Charity Award were announced in November, following three months of public voting, and FareShare Yorkshire proudly took second place out of our top ten nominated charities!

According to FareShare, 270,000 tonnes of perfectly edible food gets wasted by the food industry each year which is enough for nearly 650 million meals. This is why they are on a mission is to fight hunger, address food insecurity issues and prevent food waste.

In partnership with FareShare, the UK’s largest food redistribution charity, FareShare Yorkshire is one of 25 regional centres across the UK. Operating from their base in Barnsley, just a short journey from our office, they collect surplus food that is still in date and of high quality. This food is then distributed to a network of over 400 charities, schools and community groups across the region for them to turn the food into nutritious meals for those who need it most. Beneficiaries include homeless shelters, women’s refuges, school breakfast clubs and disability charities among many others.

We had the pleasure of visiting FareShare Yorkshire’s Barnsley warehouse and office to learn more about their incredible work and present them with a £1,500 cheque for securing second place in this year’s Charity Award.

Deputy Chief Executive Jonathan Williams warmly welcomed us and gave us a tour of their facilities. We were able to see the vast array of food they save from going to waste - fresh produce like onions and apples, tinned goods, loaves of bread, sauces, fruit juice and even tea bags. Jonathan explained that much of the food they receive comes from surplus stock, items with packaging or labelling issued, or products close to their use by date that supermarkets can’t sell.   

FareShare Yorkshire’s fleet of vans and trucks plays a crucial role in collecting and delivering food. While 40% of the food arrives at their warehouse via their vehicles, the rest is dropped off directly by suppliers. Some of the £1,500 donation will be used to cover fuel costs for their vans, allowing them to collect and distribute even more food during the busy winter months.

Jonathan Williams – Deputy Chief Executive at FareShare Yorkshire said:

“We are delighted that FareShare Yorkshire has received the second most votes in the 2024 Sheffield Mutual Charity Award. Our team are very grateful to all of the people who have given us their support. The £1,500 donation will enable us to serve more charities and community groups across Sheffield through the winter. Our staff and volunteers are working really hard to intercept surplus food six days a week to then redistribute it to as many frontline services as possible. There are many brilliant organisations which are feeding people who face food insecurity. Your help means that we can now do even more for them. Thank you to Sheffield Mutual and everyone who has made this possible.”

It was a great experience to see the incredible work FareShare Yorkshire does for the community and to know the donation will be used directly to help those in need. To find out more about FareShare Yorkshire, you can visit their website.