A food waste charity has launched a new crowdfunding campaign hoping to raise £20,000 to help more people experiencing hunger and food poverty.

FareShare Sussex and Surrey hopes to raise the funds to enable ten of its partner charities and community groups to take more frozen and chilled surplus food across Sussex and Surrey.

The charity rescues surplus food from businesses, supermarkets and farms. A high proportion of which is fresh vegetables, fruit and dairy. They deliver it to day centres, homeless shelters, supported housing, refuges, food banks, community pantries and fridges and other organisations serving vulnerable people.

The campaign seeks to provide further equipment to aid with the storage of the rescued food; including purchasing more fridges, freezers and temperature tracking equipment.

Dan Slatter, CEO of FareShare Sussex and Surrey, said: “Last year, we supplied 66 charities and community groups with 43 tonnes of frozen food.

"We know it’s expensive for charities and community groups to invest in their own commercial equipment, which is why we’re launching this campaign to help ten of our partner charities and groups accept more frozen items.”

In 2023, the charity delivered food for 2.14 million meals, supporting 16,560 people a week at risk of food poverty. Food poverty is a huge and growing problem, and 11 million people including 4 million children in the UK live in households that struggle to afford to buy enough fruit, vegetables, and other healthy foods.

To donate to the FareShare Sussex & Surrey frozen food campaign, please visit: www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/fsss-frozen

For more information visit: www.faresharesussexandsurrey.org.uk.

Trudy Hampton, CEO of Warming Up The Homeless in Hastings, East Sussex, said: “FareShare Sussex and Surrey is a lifesaver for our charity and those it serves. Regular deliveries of good quality food helps us produce 1,400 nutritious meals a week, cooked from scratch to feed those sleeping rough or in vulnerable housing without cooking equipment.

“The meals are frozen so we can provide prepared food in our support parcels which we deliver to 450 - 600 families a week.”

The Charity rescues and redistributes surplus food to more than 150 local organisations across the counties.