Speciality & Fine Food Fair 2021: why food companies partner with us

Speciality & Fine Food Fair 2021 attendee foodbrands chose to put their surplus food to better use.

As London’s first “last-mile” food redistribution charity, City Harvest rescues nutritious surplus food from manufacturers, wholesalers, farms and retailers, and distributes it, for free, to 350+ London charities feeding the hungry with quality food.

City Harvest enables food companies to have an immediate positive social impact by aligning with a sustainable solution to commercial surplus food. Our operation’s impact is threefold: we support communities facing food poverty, we stop food waste, and, in the process, combat climate change by reducing GHG emissions and their consequent harmful effects.

Our food donors span the food industry, from farms to iconic London fresh food markets to innovative food brands. By donating food otherwise destined for landfill, food companies can find a simple and free solution to their surplus in City Harvest, reduce their GHG footprint on the planet as well as provide quality food for those who need it most.

Speciality & Fine Food Fair 2021 attendees, ByRuby, Cotswold Fayre, and COOK, tell us why they partner with City Harvest London and what this means for their food businesses.

Cotswold Fayre

Cotswold Fayre is a speciality and fine food wholesaler, delivering ambient and chilled products to the retail sector. The team at Cotswold Fayre decided to start putting their surplus to good use after meeting the City Harvest team at the Speciality & Fine Food Fair back in 2019.

“At Cotswold Fayre our purpose is to make a difference to people and planet through fine food, so food poverty is an issue close to our heart. When we made the decision to start donating surplus stock at risk of becoming waste, City Harvest was a natural choice for us given their extensive experience helping to ensure that all people, regardless of circumstance, have access to healthy food. In 2020, by working in partnership with City Harvest we were able to donate 23.1 tonnes – equating to 55 thousand meals for Londoners in need – and in doing so prevented over 87.8 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions.”

COOK

To help with the emergency response to the detrimental effects of COVID-19 on the London community, COOK partnered with us to provide thousands of meals to nourish those facing foodpoverty under extremely difficult circumstances.

“In response to the pandemic at COOK we were looking for partners that we could donate food to that would reach some of the most vulnerable and isolated in our community. We felt that City Harvest was an ideal partner as they were able to store our food and reach many people that were most at need. We donated around 5,000 meals which we hope went some way to help provide a hot, nourishing meal at a really difficult time.”

ByRuby

ByRuby provides healthy, frozen meals delivered straight to your door, which are cooked fresh by Ruby, and frozen to lock in the goodness. Using quality, ethically sourced ingredients, good food is at the brand’s core. Frozen food items are always well-received by our charity recipients, knowing that they can have a nutritious, home-cooked meal on their plates in minutes.

“One of the amazing benefits to working in the world of frozen means that very little food gets wasted at ByRuby, and it is something that is core to our business, and that we feel passionate about. However, in the rare times when we do have surplus food, it is so reassuring to know that thanks to the amazing initiative of City Harvest we can not only uphold our zero waste efforts but have the added benefit of knowing that our meals are going to those in need. It is such an incredible and rewarding solution, which costs little to no effort on the side of the manufacturers or retailers, but which does so much good in turn.”

If you have surplus that you’d like to put to good use and help both people and planet, contact our food team now: food@cityharvest.org.uk