We need your help to raise £25,000 for a new delivery van
Every week, FareShare Greater Manchester delivers good-to-eat surplus food to charities and community groups across our city – turning what would have gone to waste into meals for people who really need them.
But right now, our delivery vans – the vital link between our warehouse and the people we serve – are reaching the end of the road. One of our vans is 17 years old, another has clocked up an incredible 235,000 miles. Without them, we simply can’t reach the 60 groups every week who rely on us to deliver their food to them.
That’s why we’re launching a campaign to raise £25,000 to replace one of our vans and keep our deliveries rolling.
To launch the appeal, we’ve created a special video featuring Simon, one of our delivery drivers, Derek, our head of operations, and two of our amazing partner charities we deliver to each week: Coffee4Craig in central Manchester and the Bideford Centre in Wythenshawe. They share first-hand what our deliveries mean, not just in food, but in hope and community.
Every year, millions of tonnes of good food are wasted by the UK food industry. At the same time, millions of people struggle to afford to eat. FareShare Greater Manchester fights both problems by rescuing perfectly good surplus food and redistributing it to charities and community organisations.
Last year alone, we saved 2,000 tonnes of food from going to waste – the equivalent of 4.72 million meals. That food reached over 290 local charities and community groups, from school breakfast clubs to elderly luncheon clubs, homeless shelters to community pantries.
But none of this would be possible without our vans. They are the backbone of the operation – the wheels that carry food and hope across Greater Manchester.
We urgently need to raise £25,000 to replace one of our vans. Every donation, large or small, brings us closer to keeping food deliveries on the road for the communities that depend on them.
Together, we can keep FareShare Greater Manchester moving – and keep good food going where it’s needed most.
We are looking for volunteers to join us for our 13th annual Tesco Food Collection later this month. FareShare food donation points will be open in nine Greater Manchester Tesco stores between Thursday 27 to Saturday 29 November 2025.
We’re looking for volunteers to help in-store, to promote the collection, encourage customers to donate long-life food items, and collect food donations. The food collected in the nine supermarkets supporting us, will come directly to our Manchester warehouse and will be redistributed across our 270+ community food members in the weeks running up to Christmas.
The beneficiaries of the Tesco food will include children’s breakfast clubs, older people’s lunch groups, and grassroots organisations that tackle isolation and hardship. Demand for our support continues to increase, and we need to source food in a variety of ways to meet this demand. This is where the Tesco Food Collection comes in, and why it is so important.
When there is a volunteer in store at a food collection point, shoppers are four times more likely to donate, so this is a hugely important role. This boost to our food stocks is incredibly welcome in the run up to Christmas when the demands made on our Community Food Members rise significantly.
Please help us in our work to support so many communities across Greater Manchester this winter.
If you would like to support us, by donating 3 hours of your time for a shift in one of the stores listed below, please sign up using this link: https://fareshare.org.uk/foodcollection/
The Tesco supermarkets directly supporting FareShare Greater Manchester are:
Last year, on average each participating store in the UK collected the equivalent of more than 1,500 meals over the 3 days, showing that even just one three-hour shift can make a tangible impact this winter.
Please come along and help us this winter!
We are thrilled to share our brand new video about Corporate Volunteering Days at FareShare Greater Manchester. Our friends at Dunsters Farm sent their marketing team to spend the day with us recently and recorded the video for us.
We’d like to say a big thank you to Dunsters Farm for their support with this project. We think it perfectly captures what it’s like to spend a day with FareShare Greater Manchester as a corporate volunteer!
If would like to get involved and join us for a Corporate Volunteering Team Building day, check out our Corporate Partnerships page for more details. Get in touch to book your Corporate Volunteering Day by calling 0161 223 8200 or email: corporatesupport@emergemanchester.co.uk
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We’d like to say a huge thank you to Deliveroo Hop for their food donation which came in this weekend.
The food delivery company was left with £2,500 worth of surplus stock on Saturday after changing suppliers. It approached us to take the food off its hands rather than see it go to waste.
The donation included valuable food items, like meat and dairy, which is in high demand from our Community Food Members.
The food was gratefully received and is now being distributed to the charities and community groups we support – thank you Deliveroo Hop!
If you work in the food industry and have surplus food, please let us know, we can take it and get it out to people who really need it, so nothing goes to waste.
Please call 0161 223 8200 to talk through how we can help!
For more information on how we handle surplus food, check out our ‘Donate Surplus Food’ page.
Today, it has been announced that our national partner, FareShare UK is merging with The Felix Project, a food redistribution charity based in London.
What we hope this means for us will be more food and more funding. For now, though, we want to stress that for FareShare Greater Manchester, it will be business as usual.
You can read the full statement from FareShare UK and The Felix Project here.
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 learnt where their food comes from. They then put their new skills into practice. Moreover, they sold their own produce to raise money for FareShare Greater Manchester.
The Young Marketeers came from nine local schools. Over six months, they learnt how to cultivate food on veg plots. They grew their own produce and cared for it carefully. Finally, their hard work culminated in a special market day. Last week, they sold the harvest on Market Street in Manchester city centre.
Dozens of children staffed the stalls, which they decorated with prized produce and colourful artwork. They engaged passers-by with enthusiasm and sold fresh fruit and vegetables to eager shoppers. In addition, the stalls offered plenty of variety. Shoppers could choose from potatoes, carrots, apples, and even beeswax 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 feels incredibly grateful to be the chosen charity for this event. Even more exciting, the children raised an amazing £784. Every penny will help us reach more people in need. Furthermore, we deeply thank the Young Marketeers for their generous support in making this possible.
You can find out more information here about the Young Marketeers.
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!