FareShare also provides training in safe food preparation and nutrition and warehouse employability. The redistribution of food by FareShare minimises surplus food going to landfill. Last year this redistribution of food helped businesses reduce CO2 emissions by 13,950 tonnes and contributed towards 7.4 millions meals over the year, benefiting 29,000 people every day.

At the Feeding the 5000 event FareShare will promote the message that ‘No Good Food Should Be Wasted’. Tony Lowe, CEO of FareShare says “The number of people in the UK today who are unable to buy food on a regular basis is shocking. Food is a basic human need. There is plenty of it in this country and by adopting our model the food and drink industry can share their quality surplus food - that would otherwise go to landfill or be recycled - with the vulnerable people who need it most.”

FareShare has recently launched a 10,000 pallet challenge to the industry asking food companies to ensure that in the next 12 months, 10,000 pallets of good quality surplus food, which would otherwise be recycled or destroyed, is redirected to people in the community.

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Developing world farmers often lose up to half of their harvests due to a lack of basic agricultural infrastructure to get food from farms to markets before it spoils. This problem can be solved with simple equipment such as grain stores, fruit crates, refrigeration and pasteurisation facilities and the provision of shaded stalls in market places. Focusing international aid on helping farmers to invest in these simple post-harvest technologies can be a cost-effective, sustainable way of increasing farmers’ incomes at the same time as improving the availability of food in places where it is needed most.

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We all have a role to play in reducing food waste in the UK. This is Rubbish aims to identify and communicate to the public where waste occurs in the home and along the food supply chain, and to examine the environmental and social impact of food waste. At Feeding the 5000 we’ll be creating all the smoothies from surplus fresh fruit that otherwise would have been wasted.

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Every year, 3.1 million children under five  die from malnutrition-related causes — accounting for 35% of children’s deaths. Malnutrition affects 178 million children — one-third of all children under five-years old in developing countries. According  to Save the Children, the £12 billion pounds that the UK wastes on food every year would pay for measures to prevent malnutrition in 80% of the world's hungry children.  While rich countries throw away millions of tons of fruit, vegetables and meat, in the countries with the largest numbers of malnourished children two-thirds of those under two don’t get a varied enough diet to give them the vital vitamins and minerals they need to stay healthy. They can only dream of the nutritious food wasted in the rich world.

Adrian Lovett, Save the Children’s Director of Campaigns said: “It's shocking that children are dying from hunger while billions of pounds of food are wasted every year. The average UK family wastes around £480 worth of food a year. For that price three hungry children could be saved from suffering long-term damage or dying from malnutrition. Every person on the planet has a right to food so rich governments must make combatting hunger a priority and ensure that resources saved by reducing food waste are put into feeding hungry people around the world.

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