Sustainable solution to rising prices and decreasing profits

How giving away is the new way to save in the UK food industry.

“One of our donors calls the bins of non-retail grade apples he donates to us as his ‘steps to heaven’. We save him the cost of Anaerobic Digestion disposal of edible, but unsaleable fruit and he feels a little better about not being able to sell them,” said Sarah Calcutt, City Harvest, CEO.

City Harvest takes all good food. The standard specification we share with farm donors is, if you’d eat it, we’ll take it. Fresh produce is an essential part of a good diet, we’re on a mission to ensure that all of the organisations we work with are able to share a healthy, balanced diet, rich in produce recovered from waste streams therefore reducing on-farm costs.

Ambient food is the hardest to source, then protein such as meat and dairy, but we take everything. Our goal is to provide free nutritious food that helps children and families thrive, not just survive.

Data is king to City Harvest, we produce impact reports to let companies know exactly how much their donations equate to in kilograms rescued, meals delivered and Green House Gases prevented. We also report on the social impact it has with community case studies on where the food goes, these metrics aid Cat 3 and net zero declarations and we also work with a large number of B-Corp enterprises.

City Harvest launched its Food Report at Harvest Festival at St Paul’s Cathedral on 1 October. It’s an investigation of the behaviour and attitudes of food companies. Some of the key players in the food industry, farmers, manufacturers and retailers have faced huge increases in the cost of production while suffering a decrease in profits. Farmers have suffered from the increase in the prices of fertiliser, energy and operational costs, manufacturers have suffered from lower output due to labour shortages, and retailers have suffered from managing price variations of produce for their consumers amidst the cost-of-living crisis. As the food industry has sought to reduce costs, there is one place that many in the industry have missed – food redistribution. To understand more about the attitudes and perspectives of food redistribution, City Harvest surveyed its food donors to provide insight into the industry’s perspective on this topic.

Some key findings include:

1. 88% of donors find redistribution to be effortless;

2. 80% of donors believe City Harvest adds value to food redistribution through its collection times within 24 hours, free transportation; and labour to sort surplus;

3. Waste disposal was the number one cost-saving benefit for redistribution amongst donors; yet

4. Only 37% of food donors recognised the financial value of redistribution’s benefit of ESG/ CSR reporting and fostering consumer trust;

5. Only 11% of donors are motivated to redistribute for financial benefits.

As key players in the food industry, farmers, manufacturers and retailers can eliminate costs associated with storage, transportation and the disposal of food surplus by the simple act of redistributing it to those in need. In fact, food donors receive a social return on investment when they donate food to City Harvest: for every one tonne of surplus food that is redistributed, City Harvest delivers an estimated £3,550 of positive impact for food recipients and food donors, translating to 2,300 meals to those in need. We don’t charge for food, this frees up

Please contact our food team if you think we can lower your costs and collect edible product: food@cityharvest.org.uk critical budget that can be spent on helping people improve their situation, provide childcare and education, operate soup kitchens and welfare facilities for the homeless. Food opens the door to life changing support and we are committed to ensuring that we will deliver a great diet of food that had been heading into waste streams.

Redistribution services generate financial benefits and positive social impact, which businesses can engage in when they partner with redistribution organisations, like City Harvest. To promote redistribution amongst businesses, some of City Harvest’s recommendations to the government and food industry are the following:

1. Facilitate a non-exclusive regulatory environment conducive to food redistribution;

2. Utilise food redistribution partners as sustainable solutions;

3. Celebrate the transparency of food waste reporting;

4. Set ESG targets to enhance their society impact. ■