Charity urges help for farmers to donate surplus crops

Fareshare said it had been redistributing unsold fruit and vegetables stored at its Nottingham warehouse to community groups.

It said edible crops were going to waste because farmers could not afford to harvest and donate them.

Marcus Wichmann, who runs a community cafe, said fresh donations had made a difference in deprived areas.

Fareshare said it had been storing and distributing fresh surplus food from its Lenton warehouse since 2019.

However, the charity said it operated on a small scale with 29 farms across the country, including six in the East Midlands, taking part in the scheme.

Jenny Tasker, who has a farm in North Wheatley, Nottinghamshire, grows thousands of tonnes of fruit for supermarkets every year and donates any surplus produce, including strawberries, to Fareshare.

"Heatwaves produce larger crops than we can sell, but that's not the only reason edible berries can go waste," she said.

"They can be too large or too small and we also have things we call mis-shape. The berry still tastes perfectly beautiful, but it's not necessarily what the shopper wants to consume."

'No-brainer'

Simone Connolly, the chief executive of Fareshare Midlands, said three million tonnes of edible food was wasted across UK farms and factories each year, which could make 100 million healthy meals and help tackle the cost of living crisis.

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