Food group to donate a million meals
Food manufacturing giant 2 Sisters Food Group has announced a partnership with customer M&S and Fareshare, the food charity, with plans to donate a million bespoke, targeted meals for those in need in the run-up to Christmas.
In an industry first, the meals will be made and donated from three 2 Sisters’ factory locations across the UK to Fareshare directly.
The meals have been prepared especially for this initiative and unlike previous schemes, do not come from surplus or waste, but have capitalised on unused capacity in the Birmingham-based 2 Sisters network.
Today 13 million people are facing food insecurity in the UK, a figure which has doubled in the last three years. With a history of making great tasting, quality food, 2 Sisters has worked with M&S and Fareshare to carefully select three of their most popular, seasonal ‘Eat Well’ products, which hold the M&S “gold standard” seal of approval for health and nutrition.
The meals include the Count On Us Chilli Con Carne & Rice (390g, £4.25) and Smooth Tomato & Basil Soup (600g, £2.90), as well as, the Taste Buds Cheesy Pizza (95g, £1.60). All meals will be freshly prepared with a guarantee of four days life from the day of donation.
The meals are made at 2 Sisters locations in South Wales (RF Brookes), Nottingham (Pizza Factory) and Grimsby (Recipe Dish).
2 Sisters has chicken processing factories in the West Midlands at Wolverhampton and West Bromwich.
Ranjit Singh Boparan, founder and president of 2 Sisters Food Group, said: “We’re very proud to take the leading role in manufacturing and donating meals for our partners M&S and Fareshare.
"Never before has helping to feed everyone in need with a nutritious meal been so important, and it’s very pleasing to see retailers, manufacturers and our suppliers coming together to help make this possible.
“This powerful alliance and the goodwill of organisations for their flexibility, generosity in giving time and resource has made all this possible, and I applaud everyone for their efforts.
“This has happened against a backdrop in recent years where waste and surplus efficiency gains in food manufacturing have improved beyond measure, so it’s especially gratifying for us to use under-utilised capacity in our network and work with our supplier partners so we can donate bespoke, targeted products that will benefit those that need it most.”
Alex Freudmann, managing director of M&S Food, added: “In an industry first, we’re donating over one million meals – all with our Eat Well seal of health approval and exactly the same quality and freshness as you would find in our stores.
“We are flipping the mindset from using food that is too good to waste – laudable as that is – to using capacity that is too good to waste. So everyone can have access to a fresh, hot and healthy meal.”
