Avara Foods has become the first meat processor to donate the equivalent of one million meals to FareShare.
FareShare is the country’s biggest charity fighting hunger and food waste, typically takes delivery of good-to-eat and surplus food which is unsold or unwanted by the food industry, and through its regional warehouses, redistributes it among its network of 10,500 charities and community groups. This food is turned into meals for vulnerable people, many of whom are struggling with unemployment, low income, debt, and homelessness.
Since the pandemic began, they’ve seen a huge upsurge in the number of people accessing their services, providing over 55,000 tonnes of food to charities that serve people at risk in 2020-2021. In the past 12 months, Avara increased its donations and provided enough food for 313,000 meals.
Avara’s partnership with FareShare is unusual, in that the majority of donations are not unsold or unwanted, but a regular, planned supply of fresh Grade A product. Avara was the first major poultry processor to adopt this approach. This regular supply is supplemented by important additional provisions of surplus product.