Thousands of tonnes of nutritious food that would otherwise go to waste will help families facing food insecurity, thanks to new grants offered by DEFRA today (Tuesday 10 June 2025).
Grants totalling £13.6 million have been offered to 12 food charities across England – including City Harvest, Food in Community and FareShare – to redistribute an estimated 19,000 tonnes of food directly from farms to help families and fight food poverty in communities.
Under the Government’s Plan for Change, the Tackling Food Surplus at the Farm Gate scheme was set up to help charities in England boost their relationships with farmers. This will see more farm gates opened to organisations who will ensure edible food that might have been left in fields instead ends up on the nation’s plates. Community kitchens, food banks, shelters and cookery projects across the country are all set to receive food through these organisations thanks to the grant scheme.
Successful redistribution organisations who applied for funding through the grants include:
City Harvest, a food charity which rescues surplus food and delivers it to more than 130,000 people a week, which will benefit from more than £303,000.
A consortium bid led by FareShare UK and its network partners, including Felix Project, which will receive more than £9.2 million.
Food in Community, based in Devon, which has secured more than £1.5 million to partner with local farmers and food producers to redistribute surplus food.
Waste Minister Mary Creagh said: “This Government’s Plan for Change is acting on food poverty and tackling Britain’s throwaway culture, ensuring more good food ends up on plates and not in bins. I am delighted to see this support go to 12 outstanding redistribution charities to form closer relationships with our hard-working farmers, and ensure their good food goes to those in need”.
Kris Gibbon-Walsh, CEO of FareShare, and Charlotte Hill, CEO of The Felix Project, said: “After years of campaigning by FareShare and The Felix Project, we are thrilled to have been appointed as partner to deliver the Government’s Tackling Food Surplus at the Farm Gate scheme. This scheme will enable us to rescue more surplus from farms across England. It will ensure the charities we support, including after-school clubs, homelessness shelters, and community groups, can access thousands of tonnes of fresh produce and transform it into meals and vital support to those who need it most.”
“This is a landmark moment for FareShare and The Felix Project, and a testament to what’s possible when people come together to tackle food waste and strengthen communities. With demand for food at an all-time high, this scheme will significantly increase the amount of fresh, nutritious produce whilst decreasing food waste on our farms. We look forward to working with government, businesses and frontline charities to deliver this programme and support people in need across the UK.”
To tackle the nation’s throwaway approach further, an independent Circular Economy Taskforce has been established to bring together the brightest minds from industry, academia and civil society to tackle this challenge.
The Taskforce will focus on five priority sectors to begin with – including agri-food – to create a series of specific roadmaps to improve and reform the approach to using materials, underpinned by a Circular Economy Strategy which will be published in Autumn.
This is alongside continued support for the UK Food and Drink Pact, managed by environmental NGO WRAP, which looks to deliver a more sustainable supply chain and reduce food waste in the home – tackling food waste and reducing greenhouse gas emissions and water usage.
