Ministers pledge £15m towards tackling food waste and feeding communities

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Charities have welcomed the government’s pledge to put £15m towards delivering thousands of tonnes of food that might otherwise go to waste to those who need it most, an initiative expected to save as many as 60 million meals. The announcement was welcomed by the Felix Project and FareShare - charities fighting food waste and hunger in the UK - who said the funding marks a step towards a zero-waste Britain. Charlotte Hill, the Felix Project’s chief executive, said it is a “scandal to see food grown on UK farms going to waste, especially given the increasing number of people experiencing food insecurity”. “We have a long waiting list of organisations desperately wanting food, but we do not have it to give.” It comes amid a long term increase in the use of food banks in the UK, with the Trussell Trust, an anti-poverty charity that operates a network of food banks across the UK, reporting a 37 per cent increase in demand for food parcels between 2021/22 and 2022/23, and another 4 per cent increase between 2022/23 and 2023/24.