Bristol businesses are being urged to support FareShare South West, the region’s largest food redistribution charity, as it prepares to launch its emergency winter campaign FoodStock 2021.
FareShare South West, which supplies food to more than 350 frontline organisations, aims to build a stockpile of ambient food with the funds and infrastructure to deliver it through what is likely to be a difficult winter for many families. 
It is calling on businesses to support it with teams of volunteers, fundraising activities and financial donations.
FareShare South West will source ambient food at scale from across the food industry in the coming two months and is calling on food businesses to get in touch to discuss redirecting surplus or to make donations. It is also appealing to firms in the haulage industry to help with distribution.
The decision to launch the campaign and operation earlier than planned – and to call on local business for support – comes amid concerns about the security of food supply to the charity, which in recent weeks has suffered a 30% reduction as a result of the ongoing HGV driver crisis.
FareShare South West CEO Julian Mines, pictured, said: “We knew that this winter would present challenges, with the rising cost of living, the complete end to furlough and with the reduction in universal credit.
“That is why we planned to run FoodStock 2021, boosting levels of food reaching those most in need in the winter months. 
“However, with the additional challenges created by the HGV driver crisis, and with our expectation that this disruption will remain for some time, it is clear that the scale of our FoodStock 2021 operation will need to be more significant, and that we may need more support from businesses in our region than we had anticipated.
“The emergency food that will be amassed as part of the operation, along with the increased funds we hope the campaign will generate, will mean we can both bolster deliveries to organisations working with the most vulnerable over winter, as well as being confident in our abilities to continue our regular operations, ensuring frontline settings receive food from us consistently, which they can then provide to their end users.”
He said the disruption the charity had experienced meant increased costs, including organising last-minute collections and deliveries, overhauling systems at short notice and the costs associated with getting increasing amounts of short-dated food through our warehouses and to partners quickly, in order to avoid waste.”
“That’s why we’re asking businesses to consider if they could provide volunteers, get creative with fundraising ideas or to simply make vital financial donations,” he added.
“We are yet again relying on the power of Bristol – a city brimming with care and compassion – to come together to help us ensure those most in need don’t go without this winter.”
FoodStock 2021’s hub, with the mass of stockpiled ambient food and infrastructure to deliver it, will in FareShare South West’s temporary warehouse, a former beds warehouse in Ashton Gate, with deliveries expected to start as soon as this Monday.
For more information email phoebe@faresharesouthwest.org.uk
