Supporting FareShare South West This Winter
At Christmas last year we made a £500 donation to FareShare South West as part of The Big Give Christmas Challenge. Thanks to match funding through the campaign, that donation was doubled to £1,000 — helping the impact go even further.
We recently received a winter update from FareShare South West, sharing how donations from supporters like us helped rescue and redistribute enough surplus food to provide the equivalent of around 2,000 meals across the region.
It’s always encouraging to see how a small contribution can play a part in something much bigger.
Why winter support matters
Winter can be one of the toughest times of year for many people. Rising heating costs, food insecurity and loneliness often become more acute during the colder months.
FareShare South West tackles two issues at once: reducing food waste and helping communities access nutritious food. By redistributing good-quality surplus food to charities, schools and community groups, they help provide meals, food parcels and welcoming spaces for people who need support.
A winter update from FareShare …
Their work creates what they describe as a “network of hope” across the region — connecting volunteers, charities and local organisations to support thousands of people.
The stories behind the impact
Behind every statistic are real people and communities benefiting from this support.
For example, FoodSave, a project started by Jake when he was just 18, now reaches between 500 and 1,000 households every week in South Somerset and East Devon. On Christmas Eve alone, Jake and his dad Pete made a three-hour round trip to collect around 700kg of surplus food, helping them distribute around 2.5 tonnes of food to about 1,000 people that day.
A winter update from FareShare …
In Bath, Mercy in Action runs the Action Pantry food club, supporting around 120–130 families. At Christmas they worked hard to ensure families had essential groceries as well as festive treats and gifts — helping parents avoid having to choose between buying food or presents.
A winter update from FareShare …
And in Bristol, the charity Caring in Bristol welcomed more than 1,400 visits to its Christmas pop-up day centre, offering warm meals, companionship and support to people experiencing homelessness or unstable housing.
A winter update from FareShare …
The wider impact across the South West
Across the winter period (November to January), FareShare South West achieved an incredible amount with the support of its community:
- Over 1 million meals’ worth of food rescued and shared
- 311 charities, schools and community hubs supported
- Around 35,765 people helped across the region
- 445 volunteers contributing over 12,000 hours picking, packing and delivering food
- 1,247 festive food parcels created with support from local businesses
A winter update from FareShare …
It’s inspiring to see what can happen when charities, volunteers, businesses and local communities all contribute in small ways.
Proud to support FareShare South West
We’re grateful to FareShare South West for sharing this update and for the important work they do every day — rescuing good food that would otherwise go to waste and ensuring it reaches people who need it most.
We’re proud to have played a small part in supporting their work this winter, and we look forward to continuing to support initiatives that strengthen communities across our region.
If you’d like to learn more about FareShare South West or support their work, we encourage you to take a look at what they do.