The Moulsecoomb-based food waste charity, FareShare, celebrated its 20 year anniversary.
Supporters, members of the food industry, volunteers, staff and guests marked the milestone at a reception at Platform9 in Hove on Friday, 30 June.
The charity redistributes surplus food which would otherwise go to waste from the food industry, to over 200 local frontline charities across Sussex and Surrey since 2002.
The FareShare team were joined by Lord Lieutenant of East Sussex Andrew Blackman, Mayor of Brighton and Hove Councillor Jackie O’Quinn and Lord Bassam of Brighton.
Also present were representatives from 12 local charities that have been receiving food support since the very beginning: Change Grow Live, Sussex Beacon, Brighton Housing Trust, First Base, Brighton Oasis, Brighton Unemployment Centre, Clocktower Sanctuary, Emmaus, New Steine Mews, St Annes Day Centre and Impact Initiatives.
Matt Dendy, interim chief executive at The Sussex Beacon, said: “We were delighted to attend the twentieth anniversary celebrations of FareShare Sussex and Surrey.
“They provide a wonderful service and we join with many others in congratulating the organisation.
“The Sussex Beacon has enjoyed an extremely successful partnership with FareShare Sussex and Surrey from day one.
“By supplying us with surplus food from the community, it has helped us minimise our costs, while ensuring our service users receive nutritious and wholesome meals.
“We very much look forward to continuing our partnership for many years to come”.
Last year, FareShare Sussex and Surrey redistributed the equivalent of 2.4 million meals to its network of charities across the region, supporting 17,370 people a week.
Over the next year they plan to expand to a second warehouse in Surrey, which they say will significantly enhance the charity’s capacity to reach those most in need.
Dan Slatter, FareShare chief executive said: “We are delighted to mark this anniversary with our partners and friends.
“We have seen a dramatic increase in demand for our services since the pandemic and this has continued due to the cost of living crisis.
“Without the generosity of our supporters providing food, funding, and their time through volunteering, we simply would not be where we are today.
“To help us grow with demand we are excited to be investing in a new warehouse, which will enable us to bring more food to the region, helping more vulnerable people and increasing the amount of surplus food we can save from going to waste.”
You can find out more about FareShare projects locally on their website here: https://faresharesussexandsurrey.org.uk/
