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!
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.
Christmas was fast approaching, and we were excited to share news of a creative collaboration that aimed to raise money and bring makers together. This initiative would help provide food to those in need during the winter months.
The FareShare Festive Feast Wreath featured a unique crochet pattern that recreated a Christmas dinner, complete with turkey, pigs in blankets and sprouts! Lindsay Weston, our resident crochet designer and development team member, designed this pattern. She sold it online, with all proceeds supporting our work in Greater Manchester.
Lindsay shared, “When I started working with FareShare Greater Manchester earlier this year, I couldn’t stop thinking about how I could combine my passion for crochet with fundraising for Fareshare GM for this brilliant organisation. Crocheted food seemed like the perfect way forward. I started by making some pigs in blankets and before I knew where I was, I had a whole crocheted Christmas dinner!” says Lindsay.
The crochet fundraising wreath made a wonderful decoration for any wall or door, complementing other Christmas decorations. It was also a fun and enjoyable project to create. The crochet pattern came with step-by-step instructions, allowing anyone to make their own wreath that would last for many years.
Crocheters could buy the pattern as a downloadable PDF and create their own wreath in time for Christmas. It was available here.
To learn more about this crochet fundraising wreath collaboration, you could listen to the latest episode of Making Stitches Podcast, hosted by Lindsay.
