The £9.2mn in Defra funding has helped us redistribute over a third more surplus produce and allowed growers to cover costs – now it’s time to go up another level, writes FareShare’s head of fresh produce Emma Brown
In May 2025, the government’s Tackling Food Surplus at the Farm Gate scheme committed to providing £9.2 million to FareShare and its network partners, including The Felix Project, to redistribute surplus produce from farms to thousands of charities, working to tackle food insecurity across the UK.
So far, this funding has enabled us to significantly increase our capacity to store and redistribute fresh produce as well as raising awareness and engaging new suppliers.
It has allowed us to invest in infrastructure such as in chillers, freezers and Dolav tippers for our 25 warehouses across England, increasing our ability to store and manage fresh produce.
It has also enabled us to cover some of the costs for growers, including harvesting, grading, packaging and transport, which are known to be barriers for surplus redistribution.
As a result of the funding, The Felix Project and FareShare have redistributed over 9,000 tonnes of fresh produce grown on English farms, representing an increase of over a third compared with the previous year.
We know that farmers want to see the food they have grown being eaten by people. They put a lot of time, energy and resources into growing food, but they also need to cover their costs.
This funding has helped us meet some of these costs and unlock more produce, that may previously not have ended up on people’s plates.
We have distributed more carrots, courgettes, apples and potatoes, as well as other types of produce such as brassicas, onions, leeks and other root vegetables. For example, in East Anglia, Nationwide Produce were able to divert 48 tonnes of surplus onions to FareShare.
Due to the challenging summer weather conditions, the onions had been destined for waste but, access to funding meant that FareShare could cover the costs of grading, packing and collecting the onions, before redistributing them to charities across the network.
But we always need more variety for people. Ensuring people and communities have access to a good supply of healthy and nutritious fresh vegetables and fruit is a significant part of our mission.
The food we send out provides more than just meals, it brings people in, combats loneliness, builds friendships and opens up vital support services. Some organisations offer cookery classes to help people develop essential skills around nutrition and budgeting.
For example, at St Matthews Pantry in Merseyside, the team share recipes and encourage people to try new things. This helps them not only make healthier meals but engage more in nutrition and healthy meal planning.
At the start of the year FareShare and The Felix Project officially merged to form a bigger, more ambitious food redistribution charity with greater national impact.
A key part of that is around our ability to influence food waste policy. The UK distributes less than one per cent of total surplus available, while France and Spain manage twice as much because they have policies in place to support effective redistribution.
This fund represents a huge step forward, but when it ends in March, its vital support does not stop. That is why The Felix Project and FareShare are campaigning for a range of policies that ultimately reduce the amount of perfectly edible produce being sent to AD or used as animal feed.
One policy that would help growers is the introduction of a permanent incentive that covers the costs of them redirecting surplus food to the charity sector. A lot of positive progress has been made because of the fund, but through collaboration, we can do more as a sector, and country, to ensure good food goes to people.
