How much surplus food is redistributed to people?
FareShare is the UK’s largest food redistribution charity. We redistribute the equivalent of 130 million meals each year – 0.8% of national food waste, excluding food waste from households. But we aim to grow this to 500 million meals, or 3.1% of waste, over the next five to seven years, bringing us closer to what our counterparts in other countries are able to achieve.
How other countries’ policies support surplus food redistribution
France
The 2013 National Pact to Combat Food Waste introduced a collective commitment to 16 ambitious measures designed to halve food waste by 2025. To support this goal, key legislation includes:
- Law No 2016-138, which established an anti-food waste hierarchy that prioritises prevention of food waste, donation to charities and alternative uses such as animal feed or composting. The law requires supermarkets over a certain size to work with charities to donate their surplus, and prohibits them from destroying surplus food that is fit to eat. Ordinance No 2019-1069 extends these requirements to the mass catering and food industries.
- Law No 2020-105, which included tougher penalties for destroying edible surplus, and introduced a requirement for products to be coded to make them easier to redistribute efficiently.
In addition to France’s extensive policies on food surplus redistribution, charities such as Restos du Cœur offer support, with redistribution centres open year-round where people can pick up food.
Spain
A series of laws and policy incentives have been put in place to actively tackle food waste, including:
- A recent bill requiring companies that produce, sell or distribute food to develop plans to prevent food waste.
- Legislation requiring restaurants and supermarkets to donate surplus food to charities, with bars and restaurants required to offer ‘doggy bags’ for leftover food.
- The Draft Bill on the Prevention of Food Loss and Waste, which sets out rules for implementing the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy – including regulations and sanctions covering food production and marketing.
The largest food redistribution organisation in Spain is the Spanish Federation of Foodbanks (FESBAL), a non-political and non-denominational network of 54 food banks across the country, which help to redistribute food among charities.
USA
The USA’s strategy on food waste is the result of a collaborative effort spearheaded by the Department of Agriculture, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration. The draft strategy, published in December 2023, emphasises the prevention and reduction of food waste, and recycling of organic waste, with policy frameworks to support these efforts. It focuses on:
- Optimising harvests and food processing.
- Consumer education.
- Incentivising donations of surplus food.
Researching the drivers of food waste.
Proposed legislation has also been put forward to protect individuals and organisations seeking to redistribute surplus food, including:
- Proposals in the Farm Bill to reform date labels and reduce confusion about whether food is fit to eat.
- Amendments to strengthen the Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act.