An exciting new project to get more fresh fruit and vegetables out into the community is up and running at FareShare Greater Manchester.
The Vegelicious scheme offers bulk orders of fruit and veg to community organisations. Participants just need to commit to receive either a half pallet (400kg) or a full pallet (800kg) of mixed fruit and vegetables on a regular basis (either weekly or fortnightly).
Already up and running
Our new ‘Vegelicious’ partners are using the produce they receive to make up fruit and veg bags for the people they serve or to complement their existing food offer. Among those receiving Vegelicious deliveries already are primary schools, community cafes and community food pantries.
At FareShare Greater Manchester, we are on a mission to tackle food insecurity and reduce food waste across our city region and beyond. The Vegelicious scheme was born after we were told of the need for more fresh fruit and vegetables within the communities we serve. We listened to those requests and we hope that this is one solution.
Support from DEFRA
FareShare Greater Manchester is thrilled to have secured support through DEFRA’s ‘Surplus with Purpose’ funding which is enabling us to receive an increased amount of fresh produce in our warehouse. We know our community food member organisations would like more fresh fruit and veg and that their members are finding it expensive to buy regularly. Offering a bulk supply means we can reduce the cost and help ease the pressure.
The response has been amazing. Our Vegelicious Project Co-ordinator, Sharon, has been out and about visiting groups that have signed up so far. “People are delighted with the opportunity to increase the amount of fresh fruit and veg they eat at home and can try new things without worrying about the cost.”
Join Vegelicious
To date we have 13 fully signed up members on the Vegelicious scheme with more joining all the time. In the first nine weeks of the project we have redistributed an extra 29.6 tonnes of fruit and vegetables thanks to Vegelicious. That contributed towards nearly 70,000 meals (based on a typical 423g meal portion)!
If you are from a community group or charity which supports those experiencing food insecurity and you’re interested in finding out more, please get in touch. You can contact Sharon at sharon.robinson@emergemanchester.co.uk
We’re excited to share our 2024–25 Impact Report – a celebration of the difference we’ve made together in tackling food poverty, reducing waste, and building stronger communities across Greater Manchester.
This year has been one of continued progress. Thanks to the dedication of our volunteers, donors, and supporters, we’ve been able to:
These achievements aren’t just numbers – they represent real moments of hope and relief for individuals and families who need them most.
More Than Food Redistribution
At FareShare Greater Manchester, our mission is about more than moving surplus food from one place to another. We’re creating sustainable solutions that help people and the planet.
By redistributing quality surplus food, we’re not only addressing food insecurity but also reducing the environmental impact of waste. Every order collected or delivered is a step towards a greener, fairer future.
Inside This Year’s Impact Report
Our 2024–25 Impact Report goes beyond the statistics. Inside, you’ll discover:
Our Thanks – And Our Call to Action
Every meal provided, every tonne of food saved, every life touched – it all starts with you. We couldn’t achieve any of this without the time, energy, and generosity of our volunteers, donors, supporters and partners.
But there’s more to do. As we look ahead, we’re committed to growing our impact, reaching more people in need, and continuing the fight against food waste.
If you’d like to join us – whether by donating, volunteering, or spreading the word – we’d love to hear from you.
📞 Call: 0161 223 8200 (Option 4)
📧 Email: volunteering@faresharegm.org.uk
Together, we can build a future where good food never goes to waste, and no one goes hungry.
We’re delighted to announce that Food Stories, our FareShare Greater Manchester audio podcast, has been shortlisted in the Best Podcast category at the Manchester Publicity Association (MPA) Inspiration Awards 2025!
The MPA Inspiration Awards celebrate creativity, innovation and community impact across Greater Manchester’s media, digital and creative sectors. We’re honoured to be recognised among such an inspiring group of nominees.
Launched last year, Food Stories was created to shine a light on the incredible people behind our work – volunteers, community partners, and organisations supporting people living with food insecurity. Each episode offers a platform for voices that are often unheard, sharing real stories of resilience, compassion, and community action.
If you haven’t tuned in yet, you can find the Food Stories Podcast on your favourite podcast app or right here on our website.
We’re so grateful to everyone who’s contributed to the podcast, supported it, and helped us share these important stories. Wish us luck!
A group of Manchester schoolchildren, who have been learning about where their food comes from, put their new-found practical skills to good use and sold what they’d grown in aid of FareShare Greater Manchester.
The Young Marketeers, who come from nine local schools, have had lessons about cultivating food on veg plots and grown their own produce over the past six months. All their hard work culminated in a very special market day last week as they sold what they had grown on Market Street in Manchester city centre.
Dozens of children staffed the stalls, which were beautifully adorned with all their prized produce and artwork, engaging passers-by and selling their fruit and vegetables to passing shoppers. There was a lot of variety to choose from on the stalls from potatoes and carrots to apples and even bees wax products.
The schools taking part in the Young Marketeers programme included Abbott Community Primary, Co-op Academy in New Islington, Primrose Hill Primary, and St Malachy’s Primary. This is the second year that the Young Marketeers food education programme, run by School Food Matters, has been operating in Manchester and the second time they have supported FareShare Greater Manchester. The education programme teaches children not only about how to grow their own food, but also about food systems and food waste.
FareShare Greater Manchester Business Engagement Lead Kuda Mangurenje went along to support the Young Marketeers and said “It was such a joy to be there and see all the children so enthusiastic about selling their produce. Their energy, creativity, and commitment were truly inspiring.”
FareShare is incredibly grateful to be the chosen charity supported by this event and even more delighted to share that the total raised came to an amazing £784. Every penny of this will go towards helping us reach more people in need, and we can’t thank the Young Marketeers enough for their support in making that happen.
You can find out more information about the Young Marketeers here.
At FareShare Greater Manchester, we believe that no good food should go to waste while people go hungry. Every year, over 4 million tonnes of food are discarded by the UK food industry, despite being perfectly good to eat. At the same time, food poverty is rising. The Greater Manchester Poverty Monitor 2022 revealed that 145,000 children live in poverty, that’s one in four children, and foodbank usage has doubled in the last five years. Demand for food support has surged by 37%, driven by inflation, stagnant wages, and benefit changes.
This is where the Big Give Green Match Fund comes in. With your help, we can rescue even more surplus food and get it to people who need it most. And the best part? Every pound you donate will be matched—doubling your impact!
We redistribute surplus food to over 250 charities and community groups across Greater Manchester, where it is used to support people facing hardship. These groups provide more than just food; they offer essential support, including debt advice, skills training, and community engagement, helping individuals break the cycle of poverty.
In 2023 alone:
✔ Our volunteers dedicated 21,199 hours of their time
✔ We distributed enough food for 4.6 million meals
✔ We reduced food waste, cutting carbon emissions and supporting a healthier, more resilient community.
Your donation will help us:
✔ Rescue and redistribute more food
✔ Reach more charities and community groups
✔ Provide vital support to individuals and families in crisis
By donating during the Big Give Green Match Fund campaign (which runs between 12 noon on 22nd April and 12 noon on 29th April) your gift will be doubled, meaning twice as many meals for people in need and even greater impact for our planet.
Join us in fighting food waste and food poverty.
Please donate to the Big Give Green Match Fund – the donation page is open now!
“What a truly fantastic and extremely humbling experience the Grant Thornton UK LLP, Business Consulting team north had at FareShare Greater Manchester on our volunteering day!”
Sue Ledgard
at Grant Thornton
A team of Corporate Volunteers from Grant Thornton UK LLP says the time spent on a Coporate Volunteering team day at FareShare Greater Manchester was hugely rewarding. The seven colleagues spent the day working alongside our team of amazing volunteers and employees to ensure that charities supported by Fareshare received much needed food supplies.
The corporate visitors said; “We had no idea before yesterday exactly how much the work that Fareshare does supports local communities with their mission to both reduce food waste and ensure that those struggling with food poverty are able to eat.”
One of the team members; Sue Ledgard went on to say “If you are an individual or an organisation looking for volunteering opportunities – I really cannot recommend Fareshare highly enough… we learned so much and it has certainly made me think about my own shopping and food waste habits!! Thank you so much to everyone, particularly Ruth Downes and Madeleine Daly, for looking after us so well throughout the day!”
After spending the day with us, we were able to supply them with some statistics about the impact of their contribution. Sue said “it is really heartening to see how what we did yesterday has made such a difference to so many people”.
Here’s what happened on the day the Grant Thornton UK LLP team spent with us:
We are really grateful to Grant Thornton UK LLP for their support. Sue had this to say about the opportunity to come and work with us “Thank you also to Grant Thornton UK LLP for enabling us to have these volunteer days to support such great causes and learn some valuable life lessons at the same time!”
If you would like to find out more about our corporate volunteering days, please get in touch with us.
FareShare Greater Manchester is thrilled to be partnering with Cracking Good Food for their Carnival COOK-Up event in May.
Businesses across Greater Manchester are invited to roll up their sleeves, get their aprons on and make a difference by helping to cook 1500+ meals for homeless support organisations at the Carnival COOK-Up on 13th May at Freight Island in Manchester.
What also makes this event special is the meals will mainly be made using food donated by FareShare Greater Manchester. That’s surplus good-to-eat food which would otherwise have gone to waste.
All 10 Greater Manchester boroughs will benefit from the event. Homeless support services and organisations from each area are signed up to receive the meals.
For an entire day, participants will immerse themselves in a dynamic, hands-on environment, guided by Cracking Good Food’s expert Cooking Leads. They’ll work alongside other organisations that share a passion for creating positive change. This fun teambuilding event promises not only to teach new skills and strengthen bonds but also expand your network and make a real difference.
Homelessness affects over 7,000 people in Manchester, making access to nutritious food a significant challenge for many individuals and families. Simultaneously, the UK wastes 4 million tonnes of food each year. By participating in the Carnival COOK-Up, businesses can help address both of these critical issues, providing delicious meals to those in need and preventing perfectly good ingredients from going to waste.
The event’s being organised by Greater Manchester social enterprise Cracking Good Food, supported by FareShare Greater Manchester and Freight Island. Cracking Good Food’s mission is to alleviate food, fuel and kitchen kit poverty across Greater Manchester and beyond and is driven by a simple belief that EVERYONE Deserves Good Food. All funds raised will support the event and Cracking Good Food’s community work.
Businesses are encouraged to sign up today to help make a difference.
Find more information here or contact Lilly at relationshipmanager@crackinggoodfood.org
The meals will be distributed to: Bolton – Urban Outreach; Bury – Organic Soul, Chesham Fold TRA; Manchester – Barnabus, Lifeshare, The Booth Centre; Oldham – Petrus; Rochdale – Homeless Network Help4All; Tameside – The Station Hotel; Trafford – ABEN; Salford – Emmaus; Stockport – The Wellspring; Wigan – The Brick.
We were thrilled to host a visit from the High Sheriff of Greater Manchester, Dr Eamonn O’Neal DL, to our HQ earlier this month. Eamonn, who is High Sheriff for an historic second time, spent a few hours with us chatting with staff and volunteers and touring our operations.
During his visit, Eamonn took time to meet staff and volunteers from FareShare, FareShare Plus, Touch Wood and EMERGE Recycling. It was great to be able to show him the changes which we’ve made at Maynard House since his last visit made during Covid.
Eamonn first held the position of High Sheriff during the Covid Pandemic in 2020, being appointed to the role by the late Queen. Back then, he visited our old headquarters as well as our new, bigger site before it had been fully renovated to accommodate us as it does today.
A veteran broadcaster and journalist, having worked for Granada TV and Manchester Evening News Eamonn is still a presenter on BBC Radio Manchester from time to time.
Lucy Danger, Chief Executive at EMERGE said “It was a real delight to be able to show Eamonn our progress, following his previous visit during Covid, when the building was pretty unpleasant, work had barely begun and we were struggling with the challenges presented by the pandemic. As always, Eamonn was incredibly supportive. It was lovely to see him take the time to chat at length with several staff and volunteers, hearing their personal stories and how they fit into the EMERGE collective operations.”
The Office of High Sheriff is an independent non-political Royal appointment which runs for a single year. The office dates back to Saxon times when the post holder was responsible to the King for law and order within the shire, or county, and for the collection of taxes owed to the Crown. Today, there are 55 High Sheriffs serving the counties of England and Wales each year and they actively support and encourage crime prevention agencies, emergency services and the voluntary sector.
Eagle-eyed viewers may have spotted FareShare featured on North West Tonight earlier this week. We were visited by a reporter and camera crew from BBC North West Tonight. They were working on the news story about Marcus Rashford going on loan from Manchester United to Aston Villa.
Back in 2020, Marcus and his Mum, Melanie Maynard, visited us as part of their push to make sure children were getting access to food during the Covid lockdowns. We are proud to say that FareShare featured on North West Tonight helped raise awareness of our work. In the immediate aftermath of that visit, FareShare Greater Manchester enjoyed a boost in donations and publicity, which really helped us. We will be forever grateful for the help Marcus and his Mum gave us back then and wish him all the best for the future.
The exposure from the TV segment has allowed us to connect with even more people in Greater Manchester who are eager to support our mission. The awareness we gained helps us continue to provide vital food supplies to those who need it most, especially as we approach another busy period for the charity.
We remain committed to our goal of rescuing surplus food and redistributing it to local charities and community groups. Each new partnership, donation, and bit of media attention allows us to further our mission and reduce food waste in the region.
You can watch the news report which went out on BBC 1 on Monday evening (3rd February) here:
Normally, we just take delivery of surplus food in our yard, but last week, we were thrilled to receive 60 large fridges. The appliances were donated by Aldi for use by our community food members. The fridges were just a fraction of over 300 looking for new homes after the closure of a warehouse.
As we don’t like to see things going to waste, we reached out to our Community Food Members (CFMs) to see who could make use of them to boost their food offerings. Our CFMs have told us in the past that it can be difficult to get funding to buy equipment like fridges, so this donation was particularly welcome.
The chillers we received are destined for organisations who take surplus in-date, quality food from our FareShare Greater Manchester operation and in turn, they use it to help people in the wider community to access the food as just one means of support. The food saves the people and organisations money because it is provided very cheaply by us.
These chillers will add capacity to the beneficiary groups so they can take more available produce. The organisations can, through the savings the food offers, provide more of what they do best, such as the additional support services around debt management, housing and benefits advice, as well as various methods of pastoral and social care including counselling and family support.
Our corporate partner, GXO stepped in to collect the fridges from Aldi and bring them to our Openshaw HQ ahead of delivery to and collection by our community food members. When the fridges arrived, they were unloaded from the lorry with the help of our corporate volunteers from Enterprise Mobility.
Thank you to everyone who helped us with this mammoth operation, from Aldi for organising the donation, GXO for transporting the fridges to us and to our corporate volunteers from Enterprise Mobility for helping when they arrived.
So far, 14 of the fridges have arrived in their new homes and the rest will be following shortly! Aldi also tells us that the rest of the fridges have all been sent to be reused elsewhere ensuring none of them went to waste.
Teamwork makes the dream work!
