Fresh produce businesses are being urged to apply for new funding to help them redistribute their edible surplus food to frontline charities, instead of sending it to anaerobic digestion or animal feed.

The £3m FareShare Surplus with Purpose Fund is open to new companies, as well as companies that already work with FareShare and are seeking to redistribute additional surplus food items. It can also be used to unlock harder-to-reach surplus food, or surplus food that’s further up the supply chain.

Companies could be eligible for up to £50,000 worth of funding. This could be used to cover the additional staff costs needed for packing and sorting edible surplus food, or in building, implementing and managing new processes. It could also cover packaging and transportation costs, or lost income from the sale of surplus to animal feed or anaerobic digestion.

FareShare chief executive Lindsay Boswell said: “With government set to consult on mandatory food waste reporting, businesses are now facing even more scrutiny when it comes to food waste. This fund will be instrumental in making sure companies who want to do the right thing with their surplus can quickly and safely divert their surplus to frontline charities, in a way that’s cost effective.

“The FareShare Surplus with Purpose Fund enables us to step up the support we can offer the food industry, and we’re keen to hear from businesses who are looking to develop individual solutions to surplus found higher up the food chain, or to surplus that’s previously been seen as ‘harder to reach’.

“It’s a win-win for industry – tackling the issue of food waste at the same time as making a real and measurable impact in the communities they operate within – putting good food on the plates of people who need it.”