Throughout the summer, we are saying a big ‘thank you’ to the companies who supply us with the food we redistribute to our community food members (over 300 charities and community groups). This time, we’re shining the spotlight on Hartshead Meats donations.
It’s a no brainer. Why dispose of excess product or keep it longer than necessary when you can support your local community in making an active difference? It’s crucial to be aware of the challenges charities face in having a supply of food for those less fortunate, get involved and help! – Hartshead Meats
Hartshead Meats
Meat is one food type which can be hard for us to source and protein is incredibly important to people trying to provide well balanced, nutritious meals for their families. Our partnership with Hartshead Meat is very important to us as it helps us provide a wider range of food for our community food members. Since they started supplying us, Hartshead Meat has given us just over a tonne of meat.
The motivation behind the decision to start donating surplus meat
The company says, “we felt as an evolving business that we have a responsibility to give something back to the local environment. We have been long-term admirers of the work done locally by FareShare. Work that has been brought to the forefront by individuals such as Marcus Rashford through campaigning to ensure no children are going to bed hungry. This prompted us to do our bit in contributing to feed the homeless and provide meals to those less fortunate.”
The positives of donating food to FareShare
“The key benefit for us is knowing that we are making a difference locally, knowing that our small-to-medium sized business is having a large impact on the lives of those in need across Manchester, Stockport, Bolton, Oldham, Warrington and Wigan through the data FareShare provided us with. Given our close proximity to Oldham, this information provides us with a great sense of pride given that we are a family run business.”
Until recently, Hartshead Meat had kept their donations to FareShare private, however they feel it’s important to speak about this kind of work so colleagues are aware of what the company is doing for the wider community; “We have to this point preferred to remain anonymous in our donations as we felt that this was the best way to proceed. However, as the relationship grows with FareShare and we can see the positive impact our donations are having with the local communities, we are very proud of the fact that we support local charities and we feel it is important to make them aware of our responsibilities to the local community when they join the team.”
They continued: “when a new employee joins the team we make them aware of our commitment to supporting local charities, this certainly engages the employee in understanding what we want to achieve as a business. Our staff are all aware of our donations in house and the team as a whole are proud to help the local beneficiaries.”
A sustainable alternative to food waste disposal
We believe that good food is best eaten, not thrown away. Giving surplus food to charity with FareShare Greater Manchester follows the food use hierarchy which calls to feed people in need first, before sending food to animal feed, anaerobic digestion or to landfill. When you donate food to charity at FareShare Greater Manchester, you support a food waste charity and help fight hunger in your community.
Hartshead Meats says that this is an important part of why they donate their surplus meat to us; “Sustainability is crucial throughout our entire process, from ensuring animals graze rich farmland to having the customer base to ensure we can balance the entire carcass. As FareShare is so local to us here, the road miles are minimal allowing us to support a great charity whilst ensuring our CO2 emissions are limited, thus reducing our carbon footprint”.
Advice for other food suppliers
Hartshead Meats says it would wholeheartedly encourage other food manufacturers and suppliers to support FareShare in this way:
“It’s a no brainer. Why dispose of excess product or keep it longer than necessary when you can support your local community in making an active difference? It’s crucial to be aware of the challenges charities face in having a supply of food for those less fortunate, get involved and help!”
Thank you Hartshead Meats for your continued support for FareShare Greater Manchester!
During the summer months, we are saying a big ‘thank you’ to the companies who supply us with the food we redistribute to our community food members (over 300 charities and community groups across Greater Manchester). This time, we’re shining the spotlight on Bidfood.
The goods we donate make a good impact and help out those who are struggling at the moment. Nobody should be going hungry or struggling to feed their families in this day and age
Bidfood
Bidfood started life as part of Booker Foodservice which was established in May 1929, 70 years later the company was acquired by Bidvest plc a South African-based company and in the intervening years it has grown into the company it is today. It supplies FareShare Greater Manchester with a wide range of stock-fresh fruit and vegetables, chilled lines, frozen and ambient produce to us on a daily basis.
Donating food to FareShare Greater Manchester
FareShare’s Manchester operation relies on the regular donation of food from local suppliers to supplement what it receives from the larger national donors. We can take food that:
We redistribute all the food we receive to member charities, schools and community groups. They receive regular checks to ensure they meet our food safety and hygiene requirements. We also ensure they:
Why does Bidfood support us?
Since our relationship with Bidfood first began, the company has donated 3.6 tonnes of food to our redistribution operation. We asked Joanne Rabbitt, Admin & Customer Service Manager at Bidfood, why the company choose to support FareShare Greater Manchester?
“FareShare is local to our depot, they came in to visit last year to share what they do and how they help the local communities. With the current cost of living issues and worries people have, it’s good to know that we are helping those who are in need of a little additional support.” The company was prompted to step up their donations from on an adhoc basis to daily deliveries after that visit.
Joanne Rabbitt, added that it’s vitally important to support the community in Greater Manchester; “People, through no fault of their own, are struggling to put healthy substantial meals on the table. People work full-time jobs but still struggle to provide full meals for their families. I know that if I ever found myself in times of trouble, that FareShare would help me provide food for my children, so while I can offer any help and support, I will.”
Advice for other suppliers
What advice would Joanne have for anyone else considering supporting FareShare Greater Manchester with food donations? “I would say ‘do it!’ Nobody knows what their future holds and one day anyone of us could need the help and support FareShare offer, but this is only made possible by companies and people donating to FareShare.”
Giving surplus food to FareShare Greater Manchester is a great way of supporting your business in meeting its CSR commitments and positively impacting your local community, as well as improving your company’s public image. If you would like to learn more about how your company could support FareShare Greater Manchester with surplus food donations, please get in touch.
Throughout the summer, we are saying a big ‘thank you’ to the companies who supply us with the food we redistribute to our community food members (over 300 charities and community groups). This time, we’re shining the spotlight on Holland’s Pies.
As a community brand, we understand the role we play across the North West in supporting those around us – and knowing that Holland’s is helping FareShare make a true difference across the region is the biggest benefit we take from the partnership – Holland’s Pies
Holland’s Pies started life as a baker’s shop in Lancashire in 1851. For over 170 years, its ‘proper tasty range’ has been baked to a secret traditional recipe, passed down from generation to generation using only the finest of ingredients ever since. Today, the company prepares and bakes up to 1 million pies every week. Alongside its industry accolades, it has received song dedications, poetry and art installations. The company was even called upon to create unique Holland’s Pies wedding cakes too.
Holland’s Pies has been working with FareShare Greater Manchester since 2021 supplying a range of products across their pies and puddings range. In the first year of our partnership alone, they donated 2.2 tonnes of food to us. Since we started working together, the relationship has brought more than 5.5 tonnes of food our way which we have then been able to redistribute among our charity members.
We believe that good food is best eaten, not thrown away. By giving surplus food to charity, FareShare Greater Manchester follows the food use hierarchy which calls on us to feed people in need first, before sending it to animal feed, anaerobic digestion or landfill. When food producers donate food to charity with us, they support a food waste charity and help fight hunger in our community.
As one of the North West’s most iconic brands, Holland’s Pies says it’s committed to supporting the community and is proud to have donated thousands of pastry goods to foodbanks, charities and those in need throughout its 170+ year history.
The company says making these donations has a positive impact on employee morale: “Everyone at Holland’s is delighted to be supporting FareShare, understanding the work they do is making a real difference to those in need”.
When we asked Holland’s Pies what advice they would have for other food producers thinking of supporting FareShare Greater Manchester through food donations, they had this to say:
“We would really encourage all food producers, growers and manufacturers to get involved and donate anything they can to charities like FareShare. We all have surplus supplies to some degree, and making sure that excess stock is helping those that need it the most is important, especially during the cost of living crisis.”
Thank you Holland’s Pies for your continued support for FareShare Greater Manchester!
Last week, one of our long-term charity partners, Mustard Tree in Ancoats, celebrated its 30th birthday.
The charity, partnering with FareShare Greater Manchester since 2015, held a street party exhibition at its Ancoats Hub to celebrate this amazing milestone supporting communities across Manchester. Our food from FareShare goes to help Mustard Tree at its branches in Eccles, Oldham Road in Ancoats and in Little Hulton.
Mustard Tree works to combat poverty and prevent homelessness. Along with food, it offers furniture and clothing to clients as well as help with education, training and work experience. There is one-to-one support on offer with advice and guidance, as well as conversational English classes and creative workshops in art and textiles.
The street party was a huge success, and the Manchester weather was kind to party goers too. Mustard Tree founder, Dave Smith, gave a speech celebrating the work the charity has done for the community over the past three decades. Among the attractions on offer at the event was a creative showcase of art, textiles and creative writing. There was also live painting, a choir, a Chinese Dragon dance and guest DJs to entertain the crowds. There were food stalls and a Swizzles van giving away free sweets to the children. The Mustard Tree Café served refreshments as well.
All of us at FareShare Greater Manchester would like to wish Mustard Tree a very happy birthday. Many congratulations on thirty years of service to the people of Greater Manchester!
For more about Mustard Tree and the work it does, check out the Mustard Tree website.
Do you represent a charity serving food to communities in Greater Manchester?
If so, learn more about how FareShare Greater Manchester can support you with food donations.
Quids In operates as an essential affordable food initiative, serving 200 families weekly across South Manchester. It comprises five clubs located in Arrowfield, Barlow Moor, Burnage East, Burnage West and Old Moat.
The clubs offer memberships to households on housing benefit and Universal Credit for a small weekly membership fee. Members get access to fresh and chilled food which would otherwise be hard to find and expensive to buy locally.
Quids In runs the affordable food project in partnership with Southway Housing. However, the clubs do not exclusively cater to tenants. Anyone eligible for housing benefit or Universal Credit can apply. Volunteers run each club and rely on the help of drivers to make deliveries to members who are housebound.
As well as the affordable food on offer, members can get help and advice with budgeting, Be Well and Citizens Advice Bureau. These services are designed to empower members by enhancing their financial literacy and well-being.
For over seven years, Quids In has been a cornerstone of our Community Food program, dedicated to alleviating food insecurity and fostering resilience in the community. The initiative continues to evolve, expanding its reach and impact to meet the growing needs of families across South Manchester.
Each week, Kala Mandviwala from Tameside Meals Project comes to our Manchester warehouse. Kala buys supplies for her team of volunteers to cook up to 200 meals for those in need.
Tameside Meals Project started during Covid in August 2021 and was meant to be a six-month-long project. It’s continued thanks to the support of Tameside Borough Council allowing Kala and her team to prepare the meals in the kitchen at Hyde Town Hall. Each week, the volunteers cook up several different dishes using the ingredients from FareShare Greater Manchester.
“Hot meals go a long way. It may be the only hot meal they get that day and we do whatever we can to make it nutritious. Without FareShare, I wouldn’t be able to do this project and make it last as long as I have. The staff at FareShare really look after me. They help me plan and think ahead so I’m able to use lots of surplus that FareShare has.”
Kala Mandviwala,
Tameside Meals Project
Kala says the meals may be the only hot food the recipients get that day and there’s a real need. She gets her food from FareShare Greater Manchester as the ingredients are traceable. The meals they produce adhere to strict food safety regulations.
Kala and her team produce meals to high hygiene standards, ensuring balanced nutrition with carbohydrates, protein and several vegetables in each portion. They prepare these meals in the kitchen at Hyde Town Hall every Tuesday, supported by the generosity of Tameside Borough Council. The meals then go to local charities and community groups who distribute them to those in need.
“Tears of relief, tears of joy”
One of the beneficiaries of the Tameside Meals Project is Tameside East Foodbank at Reach Church in Millbrook, Stalybridge. The church set up the foodbank after learning that local residents were walking as far as Ashton to collect emergency food parcels. As Andy Chadwick from the church says, “if someone can’t afford food, they can’t afford the bus fare or taxi fare to go and collect it”.
Other charity partners receiving meals include those serving the elderly, families and vulnerable young people. Kala says sometimes social workers will pop into the kitchen and ask for meals for their vulnerable clients. Wherever possible, she helps them out, catering to their dietary requirements.
Currently, Kala funds the Tameside Meals Project herself after the initial funding to source the food ran out. She’s applying for new funding in order to continue this much needed service into the future.
“The partnership with Kala is vital for us. Rather than just offering some dried produce and cans we are able to offer a fresh meal to people and it means the world. We collect from here on a Tuesday and we’re able to give the meals out on a Wednesday morning. Some people have literally been in tears, tears of relief, tears of joy because they’re able to provide their children with a hot meal that evening.”
Andy Chadwick
Tameside East Food Bank at Reach Church, Stalybridge
The Hope Centre community pantry, part of the Hidden Treasure Trust, launched during 2020 in the midst of the Covid pandemic. Based on Wood Lane in Partington, it’s a place for local people to get help and access a variety of services.
The Hope Pantry is available to all local residents who are in need of assistance through a membership scheme. The community pantry stocks a wide range of basic essentials which have been supplied by FareShare Greater Manchester and donated by local businesses. Members can call in for groceries and assistance, but staff will also deliver to anyone who has just returned home after a hospital stay and needs supplies dropping off.
Members can access help through visiting advisors from Age Concern and the Citizens Advice Bureau. The Hope Centre also works in partnership with Your Housing Association and the Little Green Sock Project (which offers assistance with children’s clothing, school uniforms and toys). Visitors are also able to access gas and electricity support, gardening and digital support too.
For people finding themselves in need of emergency help with furniture and household items, a support fund is available which they can apply to for assistance.
Find out more about the Hope Centre, Partington.
FareShare Greater Manchester has been working with Westmorland Primary School in Brinnington since 2020. We support their MORE Food school scheme, offering food support to families.
In February this year, we expanded our partnership through the FareShare Foodies cooking project. The aim was to use surplus catering-sized and frozen foods to cook meals for each child to take home.
Over four Friday sessions, Westmorland Primary’s cook, Sharon Reilly from the Totally Local company prepared 610 meals. These included ten recipes: corned beef hash, katsu sweet chicken curry, vegetable curry, spaghetti carbonara, sweet chilli chicken noodles, sweet and sour chicken, pepperoni noodles in tomato sauce, plant-based tikka curry, chicken in laksa coconut sauce and smoky bean vegetable chilli.
Sharon Reilly, Westmorland Primary School’s cook said “With the backing of Totally Local, the company I work for, I really enjoyed creating meals for the Westmorland school community. The food from FareShare was exceptional quality. It made it a pleasure to prepare these meals.”
A member of staff at Westmorland Primary described their experience: “One child asked for more than one container of food for the rest of his family. He clearly knew that his family struggled managing money. He said: ‘When I take this home for tea tonight, Mum will be able to go and get gas this weekend. It ran out on Wednesday.’ His beaming smile told me that he was delighted to have been able to help feed his family.”
Martin Henderson, Headteacher at Westmorland Primary School, says the partnership has had many benefits. “It was an amazing project to become involved in alongside FareShare Greater Manchester. Working on this project allowed me to understand more fully how much even the youngest children think about, and indeed worry about where the next meal might come from. Over more than 20 years as Headteacher here at Westmorland Primary, I had not realised how much the children understood about food costs and budgeting.”
Feedback from families benefiting from the project has been positive. One parent said, “My son ate foods that he would never try at home – it’s a great project.” Another said “Thanks to everyone at FareShare and those that donate to FareShare for making this project happen. I hope it will continue.”
If you are from a school or organisation which caters for the community you serve (in addition to school meals) and you’re interested in finding out more about our catering offer, please contact membership@emergemanchester.co.uk.
Throughout Greater Manchester, there are charities doing their best to support those at the harshest end of food poverty, using whatever resources are available to them to help their local community, tackling food poverty, its root causes and endemic food waste.
Wigan’s Fur Clemt are no different. They’ve been working in partnership with FareShare Greater Manchester since 2016, but their history goes back to 2014 when they started as a partnership between The Brick, Wigan Parish Church and Food Positive. Over the years, they have grown to be one of FareShare GM’s largest charity partners and distribute food on our behalf to other pantries and food clubs in the area.
In 2023, they’ve moved on from their early days tackling holiday hunger and now run a community shop and cafe, with bundles of wrap-around support on offer as well. Their move to a former primary school, mid-pandemic, in 2021 has enabled them to go further and do that little bit more for the local community, and they now have over 4,100 active members making use of their facilities.
Membership is open to all, no matter your circumstances, and referrals aren’t needed in order to be able to go along and shop. For just a £5 fee per year, members can shop twice a week and choose from a selection of ambient, fridge and freezer goods, plus a wide range of fresh produce.
Their cafe is open five days a week and utilises produce and stock from FareShare GM to cook healthy, low-cost meals from breakfast sandwiches to full, hot lunches. The cafe is open to all and also provides a warm space for a nice, warm drink and the time to catch up with friends.
“Working with FareShare allows us to support our community by offering fresh, frozen and ambient products to our members. Our project promotes dignity and choice and allows our members to feel good about making a difference to our planet by reducing food waste.”
Shirley Southworth
Fur Clemt Director
Emmie’s Kitchen is a family-run initiative in the heart of Manchester. They play a vital role in providing nourishment and support to parents with poorly children in the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital. Jacqueline, one of the driving forces behind Emmie’s Kitchen, highlighted the impact of their partnership with FareShare Greater Manchester:
“We provide 80 snack bags which are delivered to the parents every Friday. Without the food donations provided by FareShare Greater Manchester the parents may not have anything to eat. The families really look forward to getting the snack bags on a Friday and say it feels like a normal evening, where they can get together and enjoy the food and have their siblings join in with them.”
Emmie’s Kitchen has redistributed 8400kg of food from FareShare GM since June 2020. However, their work extends beyond the snack bags. They also deliver weekly takeaways, where families are treated to indulgent meals like fish and chips or Indian curries. Some parents have had to endure their children being hospitalised for extended periods, sometimes spanning years. In these difficult times, the Friday snack bags become something for families to look forward to. They can last for several days. With access only to a kettle and a microwave, the fresh fruits, ambient goods, and ready-made meals provided by FareShare Greater Manchester provide access to food, without parents needing to purchase food from the supermarket, which could be a financial burden during an already stressful period.
Emmie, the namesake of the organisation, recently won the Young Volunteer of the Year Award at the Spirit of Manchester Awards. You can watch their video in this Spirit of Manchester Awards feature.
