Partnership with FareShare incorporates the edible surplus into charity meals and makes “perfect component” for a stew, curry or salad
Barfoots has embarked on a project with FareShare to redistribute around 1,200kg of edible waste from its butternut squash and sweet potato processing line each week.
The collaboration is part of The Coronation Food Project, launched by King Charles launched on his 75th birthday in November 2023. It brings together retailers, manufacturers, logistics providers, and charities to reduce food waste, feed people in need, and lower carbon emissions.
One of its flagship initiatives is Alliance Food Sourcing – a coalition led by FareShare, The Felix Project and the IGD, which works with the food industry to unlock surplus further up the supply chain and transform it into meals for communities across the UK.
The tie-up with Barfoots repurposes surplus edible squash and sweet potato that would otherwise be discarded and sent to the producer’s anaerobic digestion plant, which converts vegetable waste to electricity.
“We’re thrilled to see this wonderful initiative with Barfoots scaling up and making such an impact,” said Chris Morling, head of food alliances at FareShare.
“The opportunity here is really exciting – saving up to 1,200kg a week of perfectly-good-to-eat butternut squash and sweet potato offcuts from their packing site in West Sussex.
“Barfoots have shown incredible commitment and effort to make this happen and their dedication means more nutritious food for communities, and less food going to waste.”
During processing, high-quality butternut squash and sweet potato parts that don’t meet Barfoots’ customers’ cosmetic standards – but are still perfectly nutritious – are identified for redistribution.
With packaging donated from Barfoots’ packaging partners Saica Flex, these edible portions are then carefully collected and redirected to local food hubs that serve communities in need.
“Barfoots have worked with their packaging partner Saica Flex to introduce an innovative solution to bag surplus butternut squash and sweet potato ‘rubble’,” explained Joshua Wheeler, senior programme manager at Alliance Food Sourcing.
“The ‘rubble’ is produced during the dicing process for another product and would have previously gone to waste. Barfoots innovative solution to package this product up for charitable distribution means the surplus items can move further up the food hierarchy and it has proved to make the perfect component for a stew, curry or salad.”
