The UK food and drink manufacturing sector could help deliver more than one billion meals a year to people facing food insecurity, according to new research published this week.
The report, The Waste Equation, developed by Newton in partnership with The Felix Project and FareShare, sets out how reducing waste, recovering surplus and reinvesting savings could transform both food access and business efficiency.
It estimates that while UK retailers sell 18.5 million tonnes of domestically produced food and drink each year, around 550,000 tonnes is wasted during production.
Of that, 23% could be prevented, saving manufacturers an estimated £326m, while a further 16% could be redistributed, equating to 212 million meals.
Reinvesting those savings could generate an additional 657 million meals, which, combined with the 148 million meals already redistributed annually by charities, would take the total to more than one billion.
The report outlines the three-step approach, reduce, recover, reinvest, aligned with government and industry recommendations, including those from global environmental action NGO WRAP and fellow surplus food organisation The Coronation Food Project.
Newton partner Tim Murray, partner said: “This report shows that no single organisation can solve the waste problem on its own. Traditionally, retail has been the biggest supplier of edible surplus to charities, but as supply chains become more efficient, that surplus is declining – even as demand for food support continues to rise.”
He added: “By collaborating across the wider supply chain – sharing expertise, logistics, storage, and production capacity – we can unlock far more surplus food for those who need it.”
The report also identifies six key points in the production process where waste occurs, including preparation, operations and quality control, suggesting targeted interventions could significantly improve efficiency.
The Felix Project and FareShare CEO Charlotte Hill said: “Working collaboratively with food manufacturers to reduce waste, recover surplus and reinvest savings to create more meals not only makes commercial sense it is the right thing to do.”
She added that the charities already support more than 8,000 organisations across the UK, but warned more action is needed. “That’s why we’re calling on the UK Government to step up, making it easier and more cost-effective for businesses to donate surplus food,” she said.
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