£5 million fund opens for reducing 'scandal' of food waste

The government is inviting food redistribution organisations to apply for the first £5 million round of funding under a multi-million pound pilot scheme to reduce food waste. It’s the first part of a £15 million scheme to specifically address surplus food from retail and manufacturing.

The pilot will run in 2019/20, drawing on £15 million additional funding the Treasury have allocated to Defra to tackle food waste. Any future funding would be subject to the Spending Review.
A food redistribution organisation is one that collects surplus food from food businesses and delivers it to those who have a need.
Food waste in the UK totals 10.2 million tonnes per year, of which 1.8 million tonnes comes from food manufacture, 1 million from the hospitality sector, and 260,000 from retail, with the remainder from households.

Information to applicants

• The grant is advertised via the Bravo portal live from the 11 January 2019.
• Potential applicants should have a historical record with a minimum of 2 years’ service of distributing surplus food in order that the Authority can satisfy itself that the necessary personnel, contacts and infrastructure is in place to collect and distribute within the timeframe FY 2019/2020.
• Successful applicants can cover their distribution and administration costs, which will include an auditing requirement to ensure value for money.