FareShare Sussex & Surrey Impact Report

IMPACT REPORT 2023

MESSAGE FROM DAN, OUR CEO

Last summer I had the honour of joining FareShare Sussex & Surrey in the year we celebrate 20 years of service in the region. It has not taken much searching to note some incredible things in our story as we reflect on the last two decades. The incredible stories are not confined to the past though, as you will see from the pipeline of developments planned for 2023 and beyond.

Incredible PEOPLE

Our expanding staff team worked alongside over 150 active volunteers (helping with administration, fundraising, van driving and in our warehouse) to deliver 1,014 tonnes of nutritious quality surplus food.

Incredible PASSION

Our annual staff survey showed that 100% of our staff team feel inspired by our cause. This passion has compelled us to invest in two new electric vans this year to further reduce our CO2e output. Annually, the new e-vans will reduce our CO2e emissions by 9,600kg a year.

Incredible PERSEVERANCE

Once again, this year has been littered with challenges that have required perseverance. We remain on the front line of the Cost of Living Crisis, with food prices soaring to an eye-watering 19.2% in the year to March 23 (CPI), the highest rate for 45 years. As the food industry contracts, we have had to swim against the tide to keep our stock varied and volumes on target. We continue to hold fast and have invested in sourcing local food, whilst knowing there is plenty of hard work ahead as the requests for our services continue to escalate and outstrip supply.

Incredible PARTNERS

Through our inspiring network of 153 charity and community partners we have supplied 2.4 million meals across the 2,000+ square miles of the three counties we serve. Exceptional commercial partners have supplied food, given expert help and donated funds (and thanks to them, our corporate income has almost doubled this year).

As we look forward to the coming year with incredible people, passion, perseverance and partners, we are on the brink of opening two new facilities in Surrey.

We are very clear about and determined to help more people facing the harsh realities of hunger and rescue more good-to-eat food from being wasted.

Thank you to all our new and existing supporters; your commitment to our cause is inspiring.

Annual Staff Survey

Dan Slatter Chief Executive

100% FARESHARE SUSSEX & SURREY TREATS ME WITH RESPECT AS AN INDIVIDUAL AND UNDERSTANDS AND APPRECIATES THE DIFFERENCES AMONG EMPLOYEES

86% HAVE FUN AT WORK

93% ENJOY THEIR JOB

93% FEEL VALUED AT FARESHARE SUSSEX & SURREY

“IT’S HARD TO THINK OF A CHARITY THAT TICKS MORE BOXES THAN FARESHARE SUSSEX & SURREY. I’M JUST SO IMPRESSED BY THE WORK THAT I’VE SEEN. WE KNOW THAT PEOPLE RIGHT NOW ARE GOING THROUGH THIS HORRENDOUS COST OF LIVING CRISIS AND THEREFORE THE DEMANDS ON AN ORGANISATION LIKE FARESHARE SUSSEX & SURREY ARE GREATER THAN EVER BEFORE, AND THAT’S WHAT MAKES THE WORK THAT GETS DONE HERE SO IMPORTANT.”

Caroline Lucas, MP Brighton Pavilions

MISSION TO MAXIMISE THE SOCIAL VALUE OF SURPLUS FOOD

VISION

WORKING ACROSS SUSSEX AND SURREY WE WANT A REGION WHERE NO-ONE GOES HUNGRY WHEN THERE IS FOOD BEING WASTED, NO CHILD GOES TO SCHOOL ON AN EMPTY STOMACH AND WHERE VULNERABLE PEOPLE ARE SUPPORTED TO JOIN OR REJOIN THE WORKFORCE

PURPOSE

FIGHTING HUNGER, TACKLING WASTE, CREATING OPPORTUNITIES

WE’RE LOWERING OUR EMISSIONS

In 2022 we diverted 1,014 tonnes of food from being put into landfill – our model is a highly efficient way to manage surplus food.

We have introduced a new electric van. It allows us to deliver more food whilst decreasing air pollution and our carbon emissions plus they cost less to run. For our full green story see P6.

WE HAVE FIVE CORE AIMS HOW WE WORK

WE DELIVER SURPLUS FOOD

We deliver surplus food from the food supply industries and prevent it from ending up in landfill or going to waste. In the UK, food production and waste creates 35% of total Co2e emissions.

WE EMPOWER OUR VOLUNTEERS

We empower our volunteers, who are the lifeblood of our organisation. Our 150 incredible volunteers assist on deliveries, drive vans and e cargo bikes, sort food and maintain the warehouse. Often they find us through our community projects and are on a journey to securing a job.

WE’RE HELPING OUR VOLUNTEERS BECOME MORE EMPLOYABLE

We run an employability programme to help volunteers become more prepared for a future role in the food industry. We give them hands-on experience in addition to our individually tailored employability training in our food redistribution depot and personalised support with job searches. Last year we helped 17 volunteers find paid work.

WE FEED PEOPLE IN CRISIS

We feed people in crisis. Food poverty is on the increase, exacerbated by the cost of living crisis. A total of 13.3 million people (9.3 million adults and 4 million children) are now living in food poverty. This represents nearly 20% of the UK population, or one in five people. This number has almost doubled in the last year. Almost half of all children are living in families who are unable to meet the cost of some basic necessities. We reach hungry people in the region from all demographics.

PROCESS IT INTO NUTRITIOUS MEALS IN OUR PRODUCTION KITCHEN

DISTRIBUTE TO CHARITIES DISTRIBUTE IT TO PEOPLE

CHARITY PARTNERS JOIN OUR EMPLOYABILITY SCHEME

FIGHTING HUNGER

As the Cost of Living Crisis continues unabated, some of the most vulnerable members of society are suffering most. However, with food price inflation at a 45-year high in February1, ever more people are facing food insecurity and hunger.

SHOCKINGLY, OVER 13 MILLION PEOPLE (9.3 MILLION ADULTS AND 4 MILLION CHILDREN) EXPERIENCED FOOD INSECURITY IN JANUARY 2023 2 . THIS REPRESENTS NEARLY 20% OF THE UK POPULATION, OR ONE IN FIVE PEOPLE 3

Over the past year, the profile of those experiencing food insecurity has changed significantly.

OVER ONE THIRD (38.6%) ARE IN EMPLOYMENT, MANY IN KEY SECTORS SUCH AS THE FOOD INDUSTRY, EDUCATION, AND HEALTHCARE.

Households with children continue to be disproportionately affected, with one in four (24.4%) experiencing food insecurity4 .

There is a complex landscape of poverty in the areas FareShare Sussex & Surrey operate in, which are often seen as affluent. Poverty leading to hunger can be hidden from view. We cover 104 wards which are within the lowest 20% of deprived communities across Sussex and Surrey5

They have above national average levels of homelessness, affordable housing, alcohol and substance abuse, single parent families, self-harm, elderly populations and rural poverty.

Inability to access food affects overall wellbeing and mental health, including engendering feelings of isolation, depression, shame and anxiety6 and 7. As of February 2023, over three quarters of food-insecure households with children were also worried about the impact of food insecurity on their children’s mental and physical health 8

Meanwhile, in the past year we have also seen empty shelves in stores, highlighting the unpredictability of food availability.

Less food is flowing through the system due to supply chain disruption brought on by Covid-19 and Brexit and the impact of climate change on farming. The war in Ukraine has also exacerbated the Cost of Living Crisis through inflating energy prices and further disrupting the supply chain.

UK PRODUCT RANGES WITHIN SUPERMARKETS HAVE SHRUNK BY 12% AND UK FOOD PRODUCTION IS DOWN 7%.

At the same time as surplus food volumes are declining, the demand for our services is ever increasing. We have a waiting list of charities and community partners that want to join our network: 17 in Sussex and 30 ready to sign up when our Surrey depot opens. Furthermore, 27 of our current charity partners have increased their food volumes.

Our food is a vital lifeline for vulnerable people in our community and we are determined to keep rising to the challenges to source and supply nutritious, good-to-eat surplus food, fighting hunger in the counties we serve.

1 ONS (2023). Consumer Price Inflation, UK: February 2023.

2 The Food Foundation (2023). Food Insecurity Tracking. Round 12.

3 Office for National Statistics (2022). Population estimates.

4 The Food Foundation (2023). Food Insecurity Tracking.

5 (National Indices of Deprivation)

6 Yau, A. et al. (2019). Socio-demographic characteristics, diet and health among food insecure UK adults, Public Health Nutrition.

7 Purdam, K. et al. (2015). Hungry? Food Insecurity, Social Stigma and Embarrassment in the UK. Sociology.

8 The Food Foundation (2023). Food Insecurity Tracking. Round 12. Children.

TACKLING FOOD WASTE

Food waste is an environmental disaster as well as being socially wrong in the face of widespread hunger. All the energy and resources that go into growing, processing, transporting and storing food are wasted when it is not eaten. Food waste accounts for up to 10% of all global carbon emissions1; that’s more than four times the amount of CO2e emissions produced by the world’s entire aviation industry2 .

Shockingly, over a quarter of all food grown in the UK is never eaten. Research by the World Wide Fund for Nature and Tesco reveals that 2.9 million tonnes of the food that goes to waste on UK farms each year is still edible3 . That brings the total good-to-eat food wasted in the UK supply chain to over 3 million tonnes, enough for 7 billion meals 4

In the UK, food production and its waste alone create 35% of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions5

The best environmental solution is redistribution of surplus food. In terms of greenhouse gas emissions, it is 17 times better to redistribute surplus food to people than the next best option, using it for animal feed6

FareShare Sussex & Surrey is at the forefront of the battle against this wastefulness. The vast majority of the food we redistribute is surplus food that would otherwise go to waste (88% in 2021-2022). We redistribute food to those most in need through our charity and community members. With every tonne of food we redistribute, we prevent the waste of 1.6 tonnes of embedded CO2e emissions.

We are equally committed to reducing our own waste from all the food we handle. This can be challenging as food sometimes arrives with a very short shelf life left or has been damaged by transportation. When this happens we send it on for anaerobic digestion to convert our waste into biogas or fertiliser.

In 2022, we also piloted sending some of our food waste to be locally composted. And, during the year, we averaged 1% waste on all food that came through our doors. In one month alone, our waste was just 0.11% (August) of total food volume.

“WE CONTINUE TO ACTIVELY LOOK AT WAYS OF REDUCING OUR ENVIRONMENTAL FOOTPRINT, WHETHER BY CUTTING BACK ON OUR OWN FOOD WASTE OR BY LOWERING OUR CARBON EMISSIONS THROUGH USING ELECTRIC VEHICLES.” DAN SLATTER CEO

THE FORCE BEHIND FARESHARE SUSSEX & SURREY

“JUST KNOWING I WOULD BE SPENDING REGULAR TIME WITH FRIENDLY AND VIBRANT PEOPLE, WHILST CONTRIBUTING SOMETHING POSITIVE, GAVE ME A HUGE BOOST.”

JON, VOLUNTEER DRIVER / WAREHOUSE ASSISTANT

Our volunteer team has been nothing short of amazing this year. It’s humbling to work alongside so many generous, dedicated and caring individuals, many of whom have been volunteering here for over eight years! Their commitment to our cause is truly inspiring, and we could not have achieved what we have without our volunteers past and present.

One of the things that makes our volunteer team so special is its sense of community. The friendly and welcoming atmosphere is often mentioned by visitors or new volunteers - a testament to the warm and compassionate nature of those who give up their time to be here each week.

1,014

Our community kitchen is at the heart of our organisation; it serves as a gathering point for breaktime chats and a place to enjoy a delicious meal together, created by our wonderful team of volunteer chefs. It is also playing host to our new volunteer forum - a space for discussion, collaboration and to support our volunteering team for the year ahead.

“AT A TIME OF QUITE SIGNIFICANT DIFFICULTY FOR SOME OF OUR VOLUNTEERS FOUND HUGE SUPPORT WITH THE COMMUNITY AT FARESHARE SUSSEX & SURREY. BEING A PART OF SOMETHING IMPORTANT, WHERE EVERYONE’S CONTRIBUTION IS VALUED AND ACKNOWLEDGED, MAKES IT A WARM AND POSITIVE PLACE TO BE.”

JON, VOLUNTEER DRIVER / WAREHOUSE ASSISTANT

What our volunteers say about volunteering at FareShare Sussex & Surrey:

69% SAID THEY FELT HAPPIER

67% SAID THEY FEEL MORE SATISFIED WITH THEIR LIFE

86% SAID THEY WERE DOING THINGS THAT ARE WORTHWHILE

85% SAID THEY FEEL THEY ARE VALUED AS A VOLUNTEER

When asked what their motivation for volunteering was:

77% SAID THEY WANTED TO GIVE BACK TO THEIR COMMUNITY

82% WANTED TO TACKLE FOOD WASTE

63%

THE COMPANY OF OTHERS

1,359

“YOU CAN GET TO A CERTAIN AGE WHERE YOU THINK YOU MAY BECOME INVISIBLE, THAT YOU ARE NEVER GOING TO LEARN SOMETHING NEW. FARESHARE SUSSEX & SURREY GIVES YOU THAT BACK, YOU KNOW YOU ARE RESPECTED, YOU’RE NEEDED. IT MAKES YOU FEEL LIKE YOU HAVE A PURPOSE AND YOU ARE NOT DISAPPEARING ANYMORE AND YOU CAN LEARN NEW SKILLS.”

Caroline, Volunteer Driver

STORIES FROM THE FRONT LINE OUR SOCIAL ROI (SOCIAL RETURN ON INVESTMENT)

YMCA Downslink is a charity which has been working with young people across Sussex and Surrey for more than 100 years. They work to tackle the causes of youth homelessness and give young people in crisis the opportunity to create a brighter future, supporting more than 10,000 young people with services such as supported accommodation, drop-in activities and signposting services.

Food plays an important role in their work, providing a safe space for people to talk at weekly meals and providing food to prepare for those living in a supported space.

Last year we provided enough food for 74,383 meals, helping to stock food pantries and cater for group meals. We also provided 48 hours of support from our team with cookery workshops, teaching young people how to prepare nutritious and low-cost meals.

FARESHARE SUSSEX & SURREY ARE REACHING THE MOST VULNERABLE PEOPLE IN OUR COMMUNITY:

Research conducted by Interreg 2 Seas Mers Zeeen for the Flavour project shows that for every £1 put into FareShare Sussex & Surrey, the social value is worth £10.87. What we mean by a social return on investment is not reflected in conventional financial accounts. Instead, we assign a hypothetical monetary value to the social, human and environmental benefits.

For instance, by passing on food surplus to low income people, we help cut their household expenditure. This leads to improvements in health and wellbeing, and in the long run saves on health and social care costs. Another aspect of our work is creating jobs and providing skills training to help people into work. Furthermore, the charities, community groups and community kitchens that we supply reduce social isolation and provide a support structure while volunteers benefit from a sense of making a contribution to society.

FOR EVERY £1 PUT INTO FARESHARE SUSSEX & SURREY THE SOCIAL VALUE IS WORTH £10.87

FAMILIES ON LOW OR NO INCOME OR LONG TERM UNEMPLOYED

HOMELESS PEOPLE AND ROUGH SLEEPERS

ISOLATED ELDERLY PEOPLE

PEOPLE WITH DRUG OR ALCOHOL ADDICTION

PEOPLE AFFECTED BY DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

CHILDREN UNDER 18

EX-OFFENDERS

LONE PARENTS

PEOPLE WITH PHYSICAL DISABILITIES

LGBTQIA+ COMMUNITY

REFUGEES AND PEOPLE FROM ETHNIC MINORITY GROUPS

PEOPLE WITH MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS

Environmentally, we enable better management of waste and more efficient use of resources, preventing food waste going to landfill and reducing the community’s carbon footprint. Through partnering with food suppliers, municipalities and social enterprises, we help build sustainable cities and communities. And by generating greater recognition and awareness of food distribution and processing centres, we can increase food donations and create change at policy level.

“I WASN’T A VERY CONFIDENT COOK. AFTER ATTENDING SOME COOKING SESSIONS WITH FARESHARE SUSSEX & SURREY, I LEARNED A FEW EASY DISHES THAT I CAN NOW PREPARE WITHOUT SPENDING MUCH MONEY. I KNOW I CAN USE WHATEVER VEG AND TINS I CAN GET FROM THE YAC AND PREPARE SOMETHING HEALTHY.”

Ellie,

young person using YMCA

WORKING WITH LOCAL SUPPLIERS

We are facing a significant challenge: surplus food shortages and a rising demand for our services.

In 2022, surplus food donations from retailers decreased amid rising fuel and commodity prices, labour shortages, the war in Ukraine and the fallout from Brexit. Scarcity has intensified in recent months due to the impact of adverse weather conditions on crops here in the UK and in Europe. The surplus food system is unpredictable and insecure, and supplying a mixed variety of food types to our charity members has become more difficult.

Meanwhile, the charities we support tell us that the need in the community is growing as inflation and the Cost of Living Crisis spirals.

In 2022, we rescued 1,004 tonnes of food, but to meet current demand, an extra 320 tonnes of food is required over the course of the coming year. It’s vital that we adapt and change the way we access surplus food. We’ve invested in a Regional Food Sourcing Manager to

help unlock more good quality, surplus food from local suppliers.

Last year, we sourced 34 tonnes of food from local producers and manufactures, including fruit and vegetables from Shrub, eggs from The Mac’s Farm, bottled juice from Brighton Permaculture Trust, plant-based milk from Infinity Foods and pies from Higgidy. By increasing the volume of food we source locally, we can become more resilient and provide our members with a more diverse offer.

Building strong relationships with local suppliers allows us to be more creative. Typically, suppliers donate their surplus to us’ diverting edible, in-date food that would otherwise have gone to waste. However, some of our local suppliers operate in a different way. As well as donating surplus, Higgidy manufactures extra especially for us to ensure a regular supply of products into our warehouses. In 2022, Higgidy donated over eight tonnes of food –enough for 20,000 meals!

“WE’RE EXTREMELY PROUD TO SUPPORT FARESHARE SUSSEX & SURREY. THE TEAM MAKES DONATING SO SIMPLE, AND WE ARE DELIGHTED TO BE ABLE TO HELP WHENEVER WE CAN. KNOWING OUR EGGS HELP SO MANY PEOPLE IN OUR LOCAL COMMUNITY MAKES US VERY PROUD OF OUR FAMILY FARM.”

SUSIE MACMILLAN, DIRECTOR, THE MAC’S FARM

THE MAC’S FARM

The Mac’s Farm is a fourth generation, organic egg farming family. For the small and dedicated team, food and environmental education is the driving force behind everything they do.

The Mac’s Farm joined forces with us in 2021 and their continued support last year helped us fight food poverty and give more people access to quality, nutritious food.

In 2022 Mac’s provided us with 1.5 tonnes of eggs, a vital source of protein for 113 of our charity members who received the eggs. The eggs from Mac’s Farm equated to almost 30% of the total eggs received into our warehouse in 2022 – highlighting how important local suppliers are in diversifying our offer to our charity partners.

We are in urgent need of more food to meet the rising demand across our region. Our new depot and production kitchen in Surrey will enable us to accept more and new types of surplus food, including manufacturing ingredients, catering packs and frozen food. If you are a producer, manufacturer, caterer, wholesaler, retailer or distributor, and can help, please contact us on 01273 671 111 or info@faresharesussexandsurrey.org.uk.

We are committed to supporting local charities and community groups to create healthy meals and provide quality fresh produce suitable for individuals to prepare on their own. The food we receive allows us to do this - we are happy to report that 52% of our incoming food was fresh fruit, vegetables and dairy products.

Last year we provided 21 of our partner charities and community groups with a freezer, helping them to prolong the life of their surplus food. We also delivered 44 cookery workshops, demonstrating how to use various and more unusual foods, alongside information about how to preserve food and make it last longer.

MAKING SURE WE DELIVER HEALTHY, NUTRITIOUS FOOD TO THOSE WHO NEED IT MOST

COMMUNITY PARTNERS

Our commitment is to build strategic and sustainable partnerships in the local community with charities and community groups who embed food support alongside wraparound care such as advice, health support, counselling and befriending. This allows people to access quality nutritious food in a dignified setting and help break the cycle of poverty.

We work with 153 charities and community groups across the breadth of Sussex and Surrey who support people from a range of backgrounds, needing food support for a variety of reasons. The Cost of Living Crisis has put increased pressure on these services, with people struggling to afford their bills and in turn sacrificing food to save money.

SURREY

Mid Surrey Community Fridges provides food support to the people of Surrey through mobile fridges which target areas of deprivation, alongside advice and signposting to local support charities and community groups.

“EVERY WEEK WE DELIVER 500KG OF FARESHARE SUSSEX & SURREY FOOD TO OUR 20 HUBS ACROSS SURREY. IT VARIES FROM AREA TO AREA, SOME WILL TAKE FRESH FRUIT AND VEG, OTHER SITES ‘PICK AND PING’ THEY WANT MICROWAVE FOOD. WE WANT TO GIVE PEOPLE A SHOPPING EXPERIENCE, SO THEY COME TO HAVE THE FEELING LIKE THEY’RE GETTING THEIR OWN FOOD, I WAS VERY KEEN THERE WAS NO STIGMATISM TO FOOD.”

TONY WHITE, MANAGING DIRECTOR, MID SURREY COMMUNITY FRIDGES

EAST SUSSEX

Seaside Community Hub provides a community fridge and supportive space to the residents of Eastbourne. Each week more than 150 local people pay a small fee to ‘shop’ from the fridge alongside getting support with IT and banking.

“WE GET PEOPLE FROM ALL WALKS OF LIFE, WE GET LOTS OF YOUNG FAMILIES, LOTS OF UKRAINIAN REFUGEES, LOTS OF OLDER PEOPLE WHO LOVE IT BECAUSE THEY CAN BUY JUST 2 POTATOES AND 2 CARROTS. IT’S LOVELY TO KNOW THAT EVERY MONDAY WE GET A NICE BIG BOX FULL OF STUFF FROM FARESHARE SUSSEX & SURREY. IF WE HAD NOTHING ELSE, THIS FOOD WOULD SUSTAIN US FOR 2 DAYS, EVERYTHING ELSE IS ON TOP OF THAT.”

SUE, TRUSTEE, SEASIDE COMMUNITY HUB

WEST SUSSEX

BRIGHTON & HOVE

The Hop 50+ provides a range of activities and social opportunities for people aged 50+ in Brighton & Hove, including providing hot meals and snacks.

“WE REALLY TRY TO MAKE THE FOOD AS CREATIVE AND INTERESTING AS POSSIBLE. IT’S SO IMPORTANT FOR THE ELDERLY. SOMETIMES IT’S THE ONLY TIME THEY’LL EAT A MAIN COURSE, AND IT’S A SOCIAL THING, BRINGING EVERYONE TOGETHER. ALSO, WE’VE GOT PEOPLE THAT USED TO STICK TO JACKET POTATOES EVERY DAY, AND NOW THEY’RE HAVING CURRIES, AND WITH CHILLIES.”

TAMMI, CHEF, THE HOP 50+

True Vine has been facilitating a Friday breakfast club and an occasional Sunday lunch for rough sleepers and people struggling with addiction in Bognor Regis for the past few years.

“WE USE FOOD TO SERVE A FREE BREAKFAST WHICH ATTRACTS MORE PEOPLE IN THE WINTER AS IT’S A WARM AND SAFE SPACE OFF THE STREETS. WE SAVE SOME LONG SHELF LIFE ITEMS FOR FOOD PARCELS AT CHRISTMAS. WE FREEZE THE MEAT THAT WE GET FOR A COMMUNITY BBQ IN AUGUST.”

KEMI, PROJECT MANAGER, TRUE VINE

20TH ANNIVERSARY

2002

We celebrated our 20th Anniversary this year and have spent time reflecting on how far we have come. We started out with 1 man and a van picking up surplus food from local supermarkets and delivering it to 12 charities in Brighton, 20 years on we are still delivering to those original charities plus lots more across the 3

BRIGHTON & HOVE FARESHARE LAUNCHED AS A REGIONAL FRANCHISE OF CRISIS FARESHARE WITH 1 MAN AND 1 VAN TAKING 30 TONNES OF FOOD FROM SUPERMARKETS, DISTRIBUTING IT TO 12 CHARITIES WITH THE HELP OF 2 VOLUNTEERS

2011

counties. We survived the pandemic; the HGV driver crisis; difficulties with Brexit and climate change on our supply of surplus food. We are innovating and expanding to ensure we are providing the best possible service during the Cost of Living Crisis. Here is our abbreviated 20-year journey.

FARESHARE BRIGHTON & HOVE OFFICIALLY BECAME FARESHARE SUSSEX

2012

MOVED TO NEW PREMISESUNIT 3 AT THE CURRENT MOULSECOOMB DEPOT 2003

2009

WE STARTED MOVING C10 TONNES OF FOOD A MONTH 2005

“I STARTED WITH FARESHARE BRIGHTON IN 2003 HELPING TO ESTABLISH THE ORGANISATION IN THE EARLY DAYS. 20 YEARS ON AND I AM STILL SUPPORTING HUNGRY PEOPLE BY WORKING AS A TECHNICAL DEVELOPMENT MANAGER FOR FARESHARE UK. I AM REALLY PROUD TO SEE THE CHARITY STILL GOING STRONG, SUPPORTING SOME AMAZING LOCAL ORGANISATIONS AND MORE LOCAL PEOPLE THAN EVER” NATHAN AU, PROJECT MANAGER 2003 - 2012

2006

10 YEAR ANIVERSARY53 CHARITY PARTNERS, 102 VOLUNTEERS SHIFTING 305 TONNES OF FOOD A YEAR

307 TONNES OF FOOD TO 51 PROJECTS, OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH BRAKES STARTED

2008

SURPLUS FOOD BEING REDISTRIBUTED GREW TO OVER 20 TONNES A MONTH, WE GOT OUR FIRST FORKLIFT TRUCK WHICH ENABLED US TO RECEIVE LARGER DELIVERIES

2007

THE NUMBER OF CHARITY PARTNERS WE COULD DELIVER TO GREW TO 44

OUR 3RD MEMBER OF STAFF JOINED THE TEAM

FUNDING FROM ASDA & BIODIVERSITY LANDSCAPES FUNDAIDED OUR GROWTH. WE EMPLOYED OUR FIRST TRAINING COORDINATOR

OUR REACH EXPANDED INTO SURREY 2018

“WE’VE BEEN FUNDING THE WORK OF FARESHARE SUSSEX & SURREY SINCE THEY BEGAN TWENTY YEARS AGO. WE LOVE THE WAY THEY GET SO MUCH FOOD TO COMMUNITY GROUPS THAT PROVIDE MEALS FOR ISOLATED OLDER PEOPLE ACROSS BRIGHTON AND HOVE. WE KNOW HOW MUCH RECIPIENTS VALUE THE FOOD AND THE OPPORTUNITIES MEAL CLUBS BRING FOR REDUCING ISOLATION AND CONNECTING PEOPLE. THE FACT THAT THE FOOD WOULD OTHERWISE BE WASTED BY THE FOOD INDUSTRY IS A BONUS TO US.”

GERRY WICKS, THE DODGSON FOUNDATION

WE HIT A MILESTONE, 100 CHARITY PARTNERS RECEIVING 500 TONNES OF SURPLUS FOOD A YEAR

2022

JONATHAN WILKINS, OUR CURRENT CHAIR TOOK OVER. OUR FIRST CEO ROB ORM, STARTED 2019

20TH ANNIVERSARY! DAN SLATTER BECAME OUR NEW CEO AND WE OFFICIALLY BECAME FARESHARE SUSSEX & SURREY. OUR 2ND E VAN ARRIVED

WE INVESTED IN A 3RD VAN TO BE ABLE TO REACH THE WHOLE OF SUSSEX 2014

RAPID GROWTH MEANT WE HAVE TO EXPAND INTO A 3RD WAREHOUSE IN MOULSECOOMBE 2013

2020

WE CAN’T BELIEVE THIS PARTNERSHIP IS ALMOST 20 YEARS OLD, OVER THE YEARS OUR RELATIONSHIP HAS GROWN TO SUPPORT EACH OTHER. AS WELL AS DONATING OUR DELICIOUS PIES, WE HAVE COLLABORATED ON SUSTAINABILITY ISSUES AND THE HIGGIDY TEAM ENJOY VOLUNTEERING AT THE FARESHARE SUSSEX & SURREY WAREHOUSE, SEEING FIRST-HAND WHAT HAPPENS TO OUR DONATED STOCK. IT REALLY IS A BLOOMING PARTNERSHIP AND WE ARE EXCITED FOR WHAT WE CAN ACHIEVE TOGETHER IN THE YEARS AHEAD.

RACHEL KELLEY, HIGGIDY CEO

COVID 19 - WE ALMOST TRIPLED OUR OUTPUT SENDING C 30 TONNES OF FOOD A WEEK TO 161 CHARITIES HELPING OVER 20,000 PEOPLE EVERY WEEK. OUR FIRST E VAN AND E CARGO BIKE ARRIVED

2021

THE COST OF LIVING CRISIS HITS... CHARITIES WANTING TO RECEIVE FOOD FROM US INCREASED TO 181, FOOD LEVELS STARTED TO FALL DUE TO BREXIT, CLIMATE CHANGE AND LIMITED NUMBERS OF HGV DRIVERS

“FARESHARE SUSSEX & SURREY HAS PROVIDED AN AMAZING RANGE OF FOOD FOR US HERE AT FIRST BASE DAY CENTRE FOR THE LAST 20 YEARS. OUR FOOD GETS DELIVERED BY VOLUNTEERS TWICE PER WEEK, AND HUGELY APPRECIATE THE TIME DONATED THAT HELPS US PROVIDE FOOD TO SOME OF THE MOST VULNERABLE PEOPLE IN BRIGHTON. THANK YOU, LONG MAY OUR PARTNERSHIP LAST!” GUY HAYES, OPERATIONAL MANAGER, BHT SUSSEX

EMPLOYABILITY PARTNERSHIPS IN THE COMMUNITY

Empowering people and giving them an opportunity to grow and blossom in a supportive environment is what all our employability programme and community partnerships are about.

Because of our vibrant and inclusive community, we have successfully teamed up with many local charities and community groups and services across the region that support diverse groups of people.

By partnering with The Sussex Probation Services, we offered a supportive environment for those who needed a second chance and wanted to turn their lives around.

Thanks to our collaboration with The Sussex University, we were able to provide summer internships for young students and give them an invaluable experience of working for a local charity that champions sustainability and innovation and prepares them for future careers in the third sector once they finish their course.

We run community cookery classes at our Moulsecoomb depot, as well as at some of our charity partners supporting disadvantaged groups. These give us an opportunity to raise awareness about surplus food and help people to minimise waste in their kitchens, plus inspire them to cook from scratch and repurpose leftovers.

Working together with St John’s College, we supported young people with additional needs in learning life skills and gaining confidence in the workplace, helping them on their journey towards independence. With the help of the volunteers, our current placement student is thriving, and is a much loved member of the team.

These sessions have had a wider impact than learning to cook; they have introduced the idea of volunteering and becoming involved in various grassroots projects, as well as spreading the message of sustainability and tackling inequalities even further.

WE HAVE PROVIDED AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THOSE FROM MARGINALISED COMMUNITIES TO GAIN NEW SKILLS AND CONFIDENCE.

CAMERON’S STORY

Cameron joined our community cookery classes at the Youth Employment Hub in Brighton in August 2021. He had been out of work and education for a while and needed a boost in confidence. He was keen on meeting new young people like himself who were searching for new opportunities and employment.

Cameron became a regular at the Cooking with Surplus sessions. He brought lots of humour and creativity to the workshops, making it a relaxed and welcoming space for other young people joining the group. Most of the participants are neurodiverse, some suffer from anxiety and depression and attending the cooking sessions was the first group activity that they had participated in for a long time.

“GETTING INVOLVED WITH FARESHARE SUSSEX & SURREY IS AMAZING. I LEARNED SO MUCH AND FEEL MUCH MORE CONFIDENT ABOUT MY FUTURE. I MET SO MANY KIND AND SUPPORTIVE PEOPLE THERE AND CAN’T WAIT TO BE BACK IN THE KITCHEN EVERY THURSDAY. I TOLD MANY OF MY FRIENDS ABOUT THE BENEFITS OF VOLUNTEERING AND WHAT A GREAT EXPERIENCE IT IS. I CAN’T WAIT TIL SOME OF THEM JOIN THE FARESHARE SUSSEX & SURREY VOLUNTEER FAMILY.”

CAMERON

Cameron’s confidence increased and he enrolled on a college course and decided to join our employability programme. He also started volunteering in the community kitchen at FareShare Sussex & Surrey, cooking nutritious plant-based lunches for our volunteers every week using surplus food. Cameron helps with some admin

and reception tasks, has completed Food Hygiene and Manual Handling training and on occasions works in the warehouse. He is looking forward to going out in the van as a driver’s mate. He wants to visit some of our projects and encourage their clients to get involved.

Cameron also participated in the Tesco Food Drive and assists our staff members in outreach activities in the local community. As part of the one-to-one support,he attended multiple job fairs and explored further possibilities of getting onto training and placements in the media sector as his ultimate dream would be to work in TV production - ideally on a national breakfast show.

OUR GREEN AGENDA

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We are focused on aligning our work with several of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) established by the United Nations, as pictured below. These goals provide a framework for global development and address a wide range of social, economic and environmental challenges, most of which are exacerbated by food insecurity.

Our mission to rescue surplus food and distribute it to those in need tackles food waste, hunger and malnutrition, promotes good health and contributes to responsible consumption and production.

In 2022 we saved and distributed 1,014 tonnes of perfectly fresh and delicious food across Sussex and Surrey. For every tonne we redistribute we save 1.6 tonnes of CO2e and 1.5 million litres of water - that’s enough to fill 61 Olympic-sized swimming pools. Our waste levels averaged 1% last year. Any food which is unsuitable for human consumption is either anaerobically digested or composted

in partnership with Whitehawk Allotments and Nature Through Nurture.

Our efforts to mitigate climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions extends beyond food; through collective action in our Green Team we have upgraded to three Electric Vans, two more than last year, and have swapped our energy providers to sustainable and greener alternatives based on 100% renewables. Through partnerships with local food companies, we are able to foster community engagement and maximise our collaborative efforts for improved local environments.

Food insecurity is a common thread linking all 17 SDGs and is at the foundations for multiple intersectionalities of inequality across the UK, including gender, race, age and class - our charity partners support people across all these areas.

GOALS FOR 2023:

• NEW E-BIKE - WE CURRENTLY SHIFT 1.25 TONNES A WEEK FEEDING 1,600 USING OUR E-BIKE. AN ADDITIONAL E-BIKE WILL AMPLIFY THE AMOUNT OF FOOD WE CAN DELIVER LOCALLY, INCREASING OUR CAPACITY TO DELIVER 3.5 TONNES FEEDING OVER 4,000 A WEEK.

• SOLAR PANELS - BRIGHTON IS KNOWN AS THE ‘SUNSHINE CITY’ OF THE UK, SO HARNESSING NATURAL SUNLIGHT WOULD REDUCE GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS AND IN THE LONG TERM REDUCE ENERGY COSTS.

• SETTING UP OUR SURREY EXPANSION MORE SUSTAINABLYWE WANT TO BEGIN WITH THE MOST ECO-FRIENDLY OPTIONS: WE WILL ENSURE ALL LIGHT FIXTURES ARE LED, ENROL ONTO A GENUINE RENEWABLE ENERGY PROVIDER, SOURCE LOCAL RECYCLING AND COMPOSTING INITIATIVES FOR WASTE MANAGEMENT AND USE COMPOSTABLE AND SUSTAINABLE PACKAGING RATHER THAN PLASTIC FOR OUR MEAL PRODUCTION.

“THE SUSSEX COMMUNITY FOUNDATION WERE DELIGHTED TO BE ABLE TO SUPPORT FARESHARE SUSSEX & SURREY, THROUGH OUR RAMPION FUND. THE SUSTAINABLE VALUES OF THE CHARITY ALIGN WELL WITH OUR OWN, THEY GO FURTHER THAN JUST RESCUING FOOD FROM GOING TO WASTE BUT SET GREEN GOALS EACH QUARTER, ONE OF WHICH WE HELPED THEM ACHIEVE WITH A GRANT OF £10,000 TOWARDS THE PURCHASE OF AN ELECTRIC POWERED VAN, WHICH SHOULD SAVE AROUND 4,800KG OF CO2 ANNUALLY AND WHEN ELECTRICITY PRICES RETURN TO NORMAL SHOULD SAVE FARESHARE SUSSEX & SURREY £1,800 PER YEAR. A WIN FOR FARESHARE SUSSEX & SURREY AND A WIN FOR OUR ENVIRONMENT.”

Keith Hollis, Chair, Rampion Community Benefit Fund

EXPANDING INTO SURREY

Over a number of years, we have been crossing the Sussex borders into neighbouring Surrey to support a limited number of partners with surplus food. Surrey’s nine boroughs and two districts have an affluent reputation. Whilst this reputation in largely justified, census data shows pockets of high deprivation and need. In partnership with local authorities, charities and community groups, we will target our food where it will make the greatest impact.

In order to provide more food that is being requested by both existing charity partners and those on our waiting list we need a permanent base in the county. There are two main reasons for our conclusion. Firstly it is about range and distances. Our vehicles travelling up and down the A/ M23 from the South Coast limits the amount of trips we can manage, quantity of food we can move and length of time our volunteer Food Heroes are out on deliveries and collections. We are very conscious of the food miles we are adding. Secondly we know that having a permanent base makes accessing surplus in the county a lot more achievable. The new Regional Food Sourcing role is key to unlocking surplus food in Surrey.

We are not only working closely with local charity and community partners to make this happen but also with Surrey County Council to take this big development step.

Surrey has also opened an opportunity with our friends at Foodwise and Neat 2 Eat to take on running a Production Kitchen. The kitchen will allow us to say yes to more as well as difficult-to-use surplus and turn it into delicious, nutritionally packed meals.

SURREY WILL ALLOW US TO HAVE A FOCUS ON FROZEN FOOD AS WE DRAMATICALLY INCREASE OUR FROZEN STORAGE CAPACITY. IN ORDER TO PROCESS MORE FROZEN SURPLUS WE ARE PLANNING TO PILOT A NEW ‘FROZEN MEMBERSHIP’ OFFER

We will take all our best learning and honed skills from 20 years in Sussex into neighbouring Surrey. This will include our developed community volunteering programme as well as skills and employability opportunities, student internships and corporate partnership volunteering.

FARESHAREGO

FareShare Go is a free service that provides good quality end of day surplus food for charities and community groups to top up their existing food supply and help them to reduce their costs.

FareShare Go connects charities and community groups with local supermarkets and restaurants to access this endof-day surplus food during a designated collection slot each week. Our current food partners include Tesco, ASDA, Waitrose & Partners, Booker, Nando’s and KFC.

The food offered through FareShare Go varies; it depends on what surplus food is available at a particular outlet each day.

Nando’s and KFC donate cooked chicken, whereas supermarket collections often include bread, eggs, fresh fruit and vegetables, and sometimes chilled items such as meat and ready meals.

It will typically be ‘yellow sticker food’; the food will always be within the use by date and is perfectly good to eat but can no longer be sold.

Charities can sign up to either FareShare Go or FareShare Sussex & Surrey membership or both at the same time. The two schemes complement each other to help groups source as much surplus food as possible for vulnerable people in the community.

FARESHARE GO IN NUMBERS:

126 COMMUNITY GROUPS AND CHARITIES

108 UNIQUE FARESHAREGO COMMUNITY GROUPS

HELPING AN ADDITIONAL 15,000 VULNERABLE PEOPLE A WEEK

PROVIDING 1.24 MILLION MEALS

THROUGH 520 TONNES OF SURPLUS FOOD

“WE ONLY STARTED A YEAR AGO WITH FARESHARE GO, WE PICK UP FROM ABOUT 4 OR 5 SUPERMARKETS, THE BREAD IS LOVELY AND WE PUT IT OUT ON THE FREE TABLE. WE’VE STARTED PICKING UP FROM KFC RECENTLY, WE’RE GETTING 30 KILOS AT A TIME. IT’S UP AND DOWN, BUT WE USUALLY GET LOTS OF BREAD AND LOTS OF VEG. IT’S THINGS THAT PEOPLE DON’T JUST NEED BUT IT’S NICE FOR THEM TO HAVE, LIKEVSNACKS AND DRINKS. OF COURSE, IT’S A LOT CHEAPER HERE, WE SAY TO PEOPLE - COME HERE FIRST, AND THEN YOU’VE GOT MONEY TO GO TO THE SUPERMARKET TO BUY YOUR ESSENTIALS WITH.”

SUE MORRIS, TRUSTEE OF SEASIDE COMMUNITY HUB, EASTBOURNE

WHAT’S NEXT IN 2023?

SUSTAINABILITY

2023 will see us add another electric van to our fleet and decommission another diesel van. We are committed to having the majority of our fleet electric by 2023 and the whole fleet as technology and battery range enables.

As part of our Green Team long term aims we plan to add solar panels to our warehouse in Brighton and to reduce paper consumption by using a travel planning app on our delivery routes.

LOGISTICS

We are seeking to add new vehicles to our fleet with one aim being to improve our frozen logistic capacity. This will enable us to accept and move the increased volume of food around the region, and to safely move our frozen meals from the production kitchen to our freezers in our Guildford and Brighton depots.

EMPLOYABILITY

Building on the success of our current FareShare Futures programme and our learning in this field, our Brighton depot will shift to provide an employability offer to those on probation and on day release from open prison.

We aim to launch our employability programme in our Surrey production kitchen in 2024, helping 18-25 year old NEETs (not in Education, Employment or Training) gain catering work experience.

SURREY

We will open a new depot and production kitchen in Surrey in 2023, with the aim of supporting 30 new charity partners in our first year.

The new Surrey warehouse will enable us to significantly increase our food volumes’ allowing us to deliver between 150 - 200 tons of in date surplus food a month by the end of 2024.

VOLUNTEERS

We are launching a recruitment drive to recruit new volunteers to support our work in the production kitchen and new depot in Surrey - we need eight volunteers a day in the kitchen and four a day in the new warehouse.

Always striving to help empower our volunteers - last year we provided accredited training for 74 volunteers. This year we aim to support 100 through formal training in Food Safety Health & Safety, and manual handling.

CHARITY PARTNERS

With the increase in food coming into our depots we aim to increase our charity partners from 150 to 200 across the three counties by the end of 2024.

We hope to build stronger relationships with our charity partners being more supportive and collaborative with the introduction of our new Community Partnership Coordinator.

We will support a new mobile pantry scheme in Surrey in c.15 locations,v helping to get food to those in poverty in rural areas.

FOOD

With the help of our new Regional Food Sourcing Manager we aim to double the amount of surplus food coming from our local food suppliers by the end of the year.

We aim to maintain the nutritional value of the food we supply - 53% of the food we provide is fresh fruit, vegetables and dairy - we’re passionate about giving the people we serve the best possible health and well being impact.

We aim to provide 3.5 million meals next year to 200 charity partners; helping 25,000 vulnerable people each and every week.

DIVERSITY

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We have set up a new People & Culture group to ensure we are as inclusive and diverse as the communities we serve. We have set targets within our recruitment for both paid and voluntary colleagues to ensure we create a diverse workforce.

“AS A TRUST WE DISTRIBUTE SMALL POTS OF MONEY WHERE WE THINK THEY CAN MAKE THE MOST IMPACT AND SUPPORT PEOPLE ON THE FRONT LINE OF THE CURRENT COST OF LIVING CRISIS. BY GIVING TO FARESHARE SUSSEX & SURREY, FOR THE WORK THEY DO EXCLUSIVELY ACROSS SUSSEX, WE KNOW THAT OUR MONEY HAS A HUGE IMPACT AT WHAT IS A CHALLENGING TIME FOR MANY.”

Richard Piggott, Homity Trust

INVESTING IN THE FUTURE

We are happy to report a surplus in 2022/23 in spite of the turbulent national economic conditions. The Development team was enlarged and strengthened which resulted in a higher voluntary income than 2021/22. Following the financial performance in the year 2022-23 the trustees established a designated fund of £250,000 to support our expansion into Surrey, reserved for opening a new warehouse and production kitchen during the summer of 2023. We also passed on the benefits of a surplus year to all our Community Food Members by freezing fees for the first quarter of 2023-24. Full year accounts will be available from the Charity Commission. All figures are subject to auditing.

INCOME

EXPENDITURE

The charity operates a reserves policy set by the Board of Trustees and reviewed annually. Reserves are required to ensure the continued smooth operation of the charity, to cope with any unexpected eventualities and enable any one-off expenditure that is deemed appropriate for the charity.

FOR EVERY £1 SPENT, 95P IS SPENT ON CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES.

TOGETHER WE MAKE GOOD THINGS HAPPEN

As a charity we are delighted to have so many people and organisations choose to support us. From running marathons to collecting food, there are so many ways people can help us to Fight Hunger and Tackle Food Waste.

• PROPELLERNET HAVE DONATED OVER £28,000 WORTH OF PRO-BONO SUPPORT TO HELP WITH OUR DIGITAL PRESENCE

• ALEX RAN THE BRIGHTON MARATHON IN 2023, RAISING £440

• BRIGHTON MET COLLEGE COLLECTED 820 CANS OF FOOD AND 20 PACKETS OF CEREAL ACROSS THEIR 3 SITES

• RIVERSTONE INTERNATIONAL MADE A DONATION TO HELP US CONTINUE OUR WORK FEEDING HUNGRY PEOPLE

• RAMPION WIND FARM SPONSORED ONE OF OUR ELECTRIC VANS, MEANING WE CAN CONTINUE TO DELIVER FOOD WITH LITTLE COST TO THE ENVIRONMENT

• SAINSBURYS WEST HOVE CHOSE US AS THEIR CHARITY OF THE YEAR

• TOM TOOK PART IN AN EPIC LANDS END CYCLING CHALLENGE AND RAISED MORE THAN £2,000

• THE SANTA BUS, RUN BY BRIGHTON & HOVE BUSES, RAISED £2,206 THROUGH THEIR CHRISTMAS COMMUNITY FUNDRAISING BUS

• MORE RADIO HELD THEIR 10,000 TINS APPEAL TO COLLECT FOOD ON OUR BEHALF

• TESCO’S CUSTOMERS DONATED 90 TONNES OF FOOD IN FOOD COLLECTION BASKET AT STORES ACROSS THE REGION

WE’VE NEVER NEEDED OUR COMMUNITY MORE … FIND OUT HOW TO GET INVOLVED AT WWW.FARESHARESUSSEXANDSURREY.ORG.UK

A MASSIVE THANK YOU

To all our supporters.

We are ever so grateful for the enduring generosity of our supporters and partners who have donated their time, food, money and professional skills so selflessly during this particularly challenging time, including those who wish to remain anonymous. Your support ensures our stability.

TRUSTS AND FOUNDATIONS

29th May 1961 Charitable Trust

Albert Van Den Bergh Charitable Trust

Arnold Clark Community Fund

Chalk Cliff Trust

Charlotte Marshall Trust

Clark Charitable Trust

Community Trust of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Desmond Foundation

Dodgson Foundation

East Brighton Trust

Garfield Weston Foundation

Guy Fawkes Charitable Trust

Homity Trust

Ian Askew Charitable Trust

Mrs A Lacy Tate Charitable Trust

Pebble Trust

Police Property Act Fund

Postcode Society Trust

Rampion Community Benefit Fund of Sussex Community Foundation

Rest-Harrow Trust

RG Hills Charitable Trust

RS Brownless Charitable Trust

Schroder Charitable Trust

Silver Lady Fund

Souter Charitable Trust

Sussex Community Foundation

Volant Charitable Trust

Weinstock Fund

Wickens Family Trust

WO Street Charitable Trust

PARTNERSHIPS

Brighton and Hove Food Partnership

Brighton and Hove Surplus Food Network

Brighton and Hove Council

Brighton Housing Trust

Brighton Rotary Club

Sandra Staufer Design

University of Brighton

University of Sussex

Whitehawk Allotment Society

LOCAL SUPPLIERS

Barfoots Bookers

Brakes

Brighton Permaculture Trust

Down to Earth

Goldstorm Organic Foods

Healthy Food Brands Ltd

Higgidy

Infinity Foods Wholesale

Lizzies Food Factory

Nutbourne Tomatoes

Shrub Provisions

Tangmere Peppers

The Macs Farm

The Organic Protein Co.

Warburtons

CORPORATE PARTNERS

Brighton MET College

City Food Share

Croudace Homes Ltd

Euromonitor International

Horsham Coffee Roasters

More Radio

Platform9

Propellernet

Riverstone Management Ltd

Sainsbury’s West Hove

Sussex Innovation

Tesco Community Fund

FareShare Sussex & Surrey, Unit 3-4 Fairway Business

Centre, Westergate Road, Brighton, BN2 4JZ

Registered Charity Number: 1093245

Tel: 01273 671 111

Email: info@faresharesussexandsurrey.org.uk

Website: faresharesussexandsurrey.org.uk