FareShare Cymru is delighted to announce the Surplus with Purpose Cymru fund is open for applications from food and drink businesses of all sizes, sectors and locations in Wales.

After the success of the initial funding, FareShare Cymru has received a second round of funding from Welsh Government, to do a tremendous amount of good for a tremendous number of people across Wales.

In an increasingly uncertain world, the opportunity to give surplus food to charity has never been more important. The Surplus with Purpose initiative is easy to administer and the FareShare team are also a pleasure to work with.

Matthew Thomas, National Account Manager – Puffin Produce

At FareShare Cymru, we fully recognize that firms could experience losses when looking to donate their surplus to us, and the fund’s aim is to clear these barriers. For example, a farmer or grower of fresh produce could incur costs from harvesting crops that are surplus to their commercial requirements – the Surplus with Purpose Cymru fund can cover these costs entirely by covering the costs of additional labour.

A manufacturer of food could incur costs from breaking down catering-sized volumes of food, or labelling unlabeled products to make them donation and distribution-ready for FareShare Cymru – the Surplus with Purpose Cymru fund can cover these costs, including labour and packaging.

Food packaging facilities or distribution centres could have short-life, end-of-promotion or seasonal stock that they want to donate to a good cause, but would incur costs from transporting this to FareShare Cymru – the Surplus with Purpose Cymru fund can cover these, and pay for the costs of transporting them.

A business that wants to be waste-free could currently be sending their surplus food to an outlet like anaerobic digestion or to the production of animal feed. Such firms could find diverting it to FareShare Cymru could represent a loss of income for the business during a cost-critical period for the sector – the Surplus with Purpose Cymru fund can cover these costs entirely, and cover any loss of income incurred by the business.

FareShare Cymru wants food businesses in Wales to be empowered to do the right thing with food that is still perfectly edible, but is no longer commercially viable. We would welcome a discussion with any food or drink business that wants to explore turning an environmental problem into a social solution for vulnerable communities across Wales.

For more information, please contact swp@fareshare.cymru, or call 07773618174/02920 632111 today