A charity combatting hunger in Bristol with food that would otherwise have been thrown away has received £60,000 from the city office of national financial and professional services firm Smith & Williamson.
FareShare, which has its regional centre in St. Jude’s, is part of a UK national network of charitable food redistributors that delivers good quality surplus food from across the food industry to almost 11,000 frontline charities and community groups. 
Last year, enough food was redistributed to provide £46.5m worth of meals.
Smith & Williamson is also donating £15,000 to FoodCloud, a social enterprise that matches businesses with surplus food to local charities and community groups, principally in Ireland.
Smith & Williamson staff are now being encouraged to raise money themselves through fundraising activities – with the firm matching their donations pound for pound up to a cumulative total of £25,000. 
Despite restrictions caused by the lockdown, staff are already finding innovative ways to keep in touch – from virtual pub quizzes to bingo nights.
Nigel Hardy, managing partner of Smith & Williamson’s professional services business in Bristol, pictured, said: “Both of these organisations do an incredible job redistributing surplus food to charities and communities across the UK and Ireland, focusing their efforts on some of the most vulnerable individuals and families in society, who will need particular support during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“This includes the homeless, families whose children would normally receive free school meals, the elderly, people with underlying health conditions and those who need to self-isolate.”
