Food Supply: Children

(asked on 5th November 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what representations he has received on the Community Shop initiative to redistribute surplus food waste to help tackle child food insecurity; and whether he plans to make it his policy to support that initiative.


Answered by
Rebecca Pow Portrait
Rebecca Pow
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This question was answered on 13th November 2020

In 2018, a £15 million food waste fund was announced to do more to tackle food waste and make sure surplus food goes to those who have a need. Grants have been awarded to food redistribution organisations both large and small, including £1.9 million each for Community Shop, which has resulted in its Harnessing Harder to Reach Surplus programme, and FareShare and its Surplus with Purpose initiative.

In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, £5 million has been specifically made available to help redistribute surplus food to those in need including £1.8 million from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport fund in support of charities. Nearly 300 grants have been made available to over 230 charities. Grant recipients are now delivering their project activities and putting in place the new infrastructure that the funds have supported across their food redistribution networks.

Building on the significant support given to the most vulnerable during the pandemic, earlier this month a winter support package was announced, including a further £16 million to fund local charities to purchase food through well-established networks and provide immediate support to people of all ages.

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