City Harvest Rescues Food, People & Planet
Here at City Harvest we tackle two big issues: food waste and food poverty. We are a sustainable solution to surplus for the food and growing industry, diverting quality food from waste and redistributing it to those facing food poverty across London. When 1 in 4 people struggle to access nutritious food and 1 in 3 parents miss meals to feed their families, City Harvest’s solution is manifold.
Who City Harvest Supports
Our London-wide operation delivers free food every week to over 375 community partners: food banks, schools, hostels, soup kitchens, refuges, and local community hubs. We’re currently redistributing free food for 1.2 million meals a month, but sadly, we have a growing list of more than 20,000 people who need our help. We also collaborate with and support like-minded food redistribution charities throughout the UK who share the same vision as us, so that together we can all achieve more.
How food companies work with us
We work with all levels of the food supply chain. We partner with farms and growers, manufacturers, retailers, wholesalers, and distributors all across the UK, who flag when stock is either close to its shelf life, has been forecasted incorrectly, forms part of a development trial, has incorrect packaging, or sadly just doesn’t make the grade or specification due to seasonal challenges. Fully compliant with food safety and distribution law, we require the product is labelled with a title, ingredient declaration and allergen information, and a ‘use by’ / ‘best before’ date, and then we’re able to take it and redistribute it. We have a strict chill chain and ensure our community partners are fully food safety accredited with the correct storage facilities to ensure the chill chain is not broken at any stage. Fresh produce is obviously simpler.
We attract staff from the food, hospitality, and logistics industry, so we more than understand that dealing with surplus stock is a less of a priority than selling stock for profit. Our team integrates into your operation to spot opportunity and organise logistics, making it as slick as possible from day one.
How to Donate Food- it’s so easy to work with us
- We have a fleet of branded City Harvest vans that can collect stock locally to our depots.
- Alternatively, we can arrange for stock to be delivered to us. We have several great partnerships with third-party hauliers who will collect anywhere in the UK for us.
- We’re happy to accept short shelf-life food.
- We have dedicated team of volunteers who sort through all our donations.
- Our community partners receive the food in just a matter of hours/days.
Immediate Impact Reporting
We love to shine a sustainability spotlight on the social and climate impact that companies make by partnering with us. Our impact reports allow you to show your stakeholders the immediate impact to people and planet with case studies and statistics of who your food is supporting. We report on the number of kgs rescued, meals provided and kgs of GHG prevented.
Get in touch now – we are a lovely lot at City Harvest!
Making a food donation is so simple, it just requires an email or a phone call to the Food Team at food@cityharvest.org.uk / 0207 041 8491 with details of the surplus food, and we’ll take it from there. Alternatively, use the button at the top of the page and complete the form and someone from the food team will be in touch.
As the world wakes up to the intrinsic value of food, there is no reason food should be wasted when people experience hunger and malnutrition. Making the right choice has never been easier.
Best wishes,
Mary Parsons
Head of Food, City Harvest London
City Harvest Rescues Food, People & Planet
Here at City Harvest we tackle two big issues: food waste and food poverty. We are a sustainable solution to surplus for the food and growing industry, diverting quality food from waste and redistributing it to those facing food poverty across London. When 1 in 4 people struggle to access nutritious food and 1 in 3 parents miss meals to feed their families, City Harvest’s solution is manifold.
