The plan, announced to Parliament in the wake of the King’s Speech, will bring together a range of food charities and social enterprises across the UK behind a single shared roadmap.
The programme will see these groups committing to triple the volume of surplus food made available for redistribution.
Developed over many months by sector leaders and co‑authored by the Institute of Grocery Distribution (IGD) and the newly merged FareShare and The Felix Project, the plan will involve the food industry, charities and social enterprises working collectively, alongside philanthropists and the government, towards a shared goal.
The Bread and Butter Thing, City Harvest, Community Shop, Feeding Britain, His Church, Neighbourly, Trussell and the Xcess Network will all be participating.
The initiative establishes food redistribution as a key pillar in the UK’s national approach to food systems change, with the breadth of organisations taking part reflecting the significance of the moment, according to participants.
The move comes with food inflation set to rise sharply and household budgets expected to come under further pressure.
As a result, charities expect demand for their services to grow. The stakeholders involved say they hope that funding committed through the National Programme to Redistribute Surplus Food will reach communities in time to support those most in need.
In his parliamentary address, the prime minister said: “Faced with challenges, we don’t retreat from our Labour values. Strength through fairness.
“So, we will keep supporting those who need it most, including by creating a new national programme to redistribute surplus food.”
