Cargill Renews its Support for FareShare - Helping FareShare to Redistribute Enough Food Across the North West for 300,000 Meals a Year

LONDON, October 14, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Cargill, an international producer and marketer of food, agricultural, financial and industrial products and services, has announced a new three year commitment to food redistribution charity FareShare, which will enable the charity to provide enough food for more than 900,000 meals to community projects across the North West.

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The funding comes at a crucial time as a recent survey of FareShare's member charities in the North West revealed 60% have experienced more people turning to them for food. Between them, FareShare North West and FareShare Merseyside currently support more than 150 charities in the region, including homeless shelters, breakfast clubs for children and luncheon clubs for the elderly.

This new £225,000 three year commitment will support the continued development of FareShare North West and FareShare Merseyside and enable them to provide their current member charities with even more food. As a result, these charities will save thousands of pounds on their food bill, which they will invest into providing more support services for their beneficiaries, such as counselling. The funding will also be used to expand their reach and supply food to more charities in the region.

Martin Douglas, UK representative for Cargill, said: "As a global company, we believe that everyone should have access to a steady supply of safe, nutritious and affordable food. We partner with organisations that help us to meet this challenge and FareShare does just that and more. We are proud to be supporting FareShare for another three years and making sure that those charities and organisations that receive the food are able to continue to support local people that are most in need."

Lindsay Boswell, FareShare CEO, said: "We know charities in the North West are struggling to meet demand, as more people turn to them for food. Whilst FareShare provided these charities with enough food for more than a million meals last year, two thirds of them fear demand will only increase in the future. Thanks to Cargill's continued support, we'll be able to help meet some of that demand by providing local soup kitchens and breakfast clubs with good quality, nutritious food."

This announcement continues Cargill's commitment to FareShare with more than £291,000 worth of funding already provided over the last five years, helping the charity redistribute enough food for more than 1.1 million meals.

Cargill has supported FareShare since 2009, helping to establish FareShare Merseyside and providing vital funds and volunteer support in Manchester and Liverpool.

As a company dedicated to being the global leader in nourishing people, Cargill is working to address the complex challenge of feeding the world while at the same time protecting the planet. Cargill advocates for policies that let markets work and enable farmers to thrive; helps expand access to food, improves nutrition and pursues partnerships to end hunger; and works to increase agricultural productivity and incomes while ensuring responsible use of natural resources. Over the past five years, Cargill has contributed more than $81 million to reduce hunger and improve nutrition globally.

Notes to the editor

About FareShare

• FareShare is a unique charity fighting hunger and its underlying causes by redistributing surplus food to hundreds of local charities across the UK. By ensuring good food is not wasted, we turn an environmental problem into a solution, helping to feed thousands of vulnerable people every day.
• FareShare has been operating since 2004 as an independent charity and today has 17 locations across the UK that provide to more than 900 local charities.
• Last year we redistributed 4,200 tonnes of food, enough to feed 43,700 people every day, saving each charity an average of £13,000 a year and food businesses 1,850 tonnes of CO₂ emissions.
• By creating a value chain directly between the food industry and people in need, we are unique in fighting hunger by tackling food waste.
• Find out more at http://www.fareshare.org.uk

About Cargill

• Cargill is an international producer and marketer of food, agricultural, financial and industrial products and services.
• Founded in 1865, the privately held company employs 140,000 people in 65 countries.
• Cargill has over 3,000 employees in the UK based at 19 locations
• Cargill is committed to operating responsibly as we pursue our goal to be the global leader in nourishing people.
• Find out more at http://www.cargill.co.uk and http://www.cargill.co.uk/en/corporate-responsibility/local-initiatives/index.jsp

Contact details

FareShare: Maria Olesen, maria.olesen@fareshare.org.uk, +44(0)7415-241-328
Cargill: Wendy Garbutt, wendy_garbutt@cargill.com,  +44(0)7748-933576