UK Supermarkets Unite to Tackle Hunger through Joint Campaign

In response to a challenge by King Charles, four major UK supermarkets – Tesco, Sainsbury's, Morrisons, and Waitrose – have joined forces to launch the "Let's Make A Meal Of It" campaign. This initiative aims to raise funds for the FareShare charity, which works with 8,000 charities and community groups across the UK, by encouraging customers to donate to the cause online or in-store. The campaign, which started today and will run for up to two weeks, aims to source and redistribute surplus food to provide meals for those facing hunger.

Key Takeaways:

• The campaign is a response to a challenge by King Charles on his 75th birthday in 2023, calling for the food industry to close the gap between food waste and hunger.
• The campaign will run in Waitrose and Morrisons online, and in Tesco and Sainsbury's online and in stores, with all proceeds going to FareShare.
• For every £1 raised, five meals will be provided to those facing hunger by sourcing and redistributing surplus food.
• Beneficiaries of the campaign include children receiving hot meals at youth clubs during school holidays and people experiencing loneliness who will be able to share meals in community settings.
• Alongside the fundraising campaign, Alliance Food Sourcing is working to reduce the 4.6 million tonnes of food that goes to waste in the UK every year, focusing on food often thrown away before it reaches shops.
• The supermarkets' CEOs – Simon Roberts of Sainsbury's, Matthew Barnes of Tesco, and Rami Baitieh of Morrisons – believe that collaboration is key to addressing food insecurity and that this campaign is a breakthrough for the UK food industry.

Statistics:

• 4.6 million tonnes of food goes to waste in the UK every year (Source: BBC News[i])
• The FareShare charity works with 8,000 charities and community groups across the UK
• For every £1 raised, five meals will be provided to those facing hunger
• The campaign will run for up to two weeks

Sources:

[i] BBC News