Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what funding has been allocated to (a) FareShare and (b) other food redistribution organisations from (i) the Dormant Assets Scheme and (b) other sources.

Dormant assets funding in England can currently only be distributed to youth, financial inclusion, or social investment wholesalers. Given these restrictions, no funding has been directly allocated to food redistribution organisations such as FareShare.

However, the independent organisations that currently receive dormant assets funding are free to determine the most impactful initiatives in their sectors. We understand that some of their work has indeed benefitted food redistribution organisations. For example, through the Access Foundation, social investment has been provided by the Key Fund to FoodWorks Sheffield, which works to divert food waste and use it to provide affordable food in various neighbourhoods across the city. FoodWorks has grown to save over 500 tonnes of food waste per year, work with hundreds of volunteers, and feed thousands of people each month.

In terms of other sources: since 2018, a series of grant awards have been taken forward by the Food Waste Prevention team in the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to make sure more surplus food is diverted from animal feed and disposal for human consumption. Around £13 million has supported both large and small redistribution organisations across the country to increase their capability and capacity, with FareShare benefitting with around £3 million of grant awards.

During the COVID-19 response, Defra also provided two separate streams of funding to the food distributor FareShare totalling £26.5 million to support food charities with the purchasing and distribution of food to the vulnerable.