Last year they provided 172 charitable projects across NI with 1.7 million meals
Inside a warehouse in Co Antrim are a team of volunteers fighting food poverty across Northern Ireland, with demand for their services on the rise as winter looms.
FareShare has been operating in Northern Ireland since 2011 and is operated here by the charity Homeless Connect. At their storage facility in Mallusk, a team of volunteers work hard each day to sort and process surplus food donated by producers, manufacturers, and retailers, with this then passed on to charities throughout the region.
Last year, the warehouse provided 172 charitable projects across Northern Ireland with 727 tonnes of food – which is equivalent to 1.7 million meals. The food goes to the likes of community food banks, homeless outreach charities, and children and young people’s charities.
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On a visit to the Mallusk storage facility this week, staff and volunteers told us about the work that goes on behind the scenes to make sure they are doing their best to meet increasing demand.
Speaking to Belfast Live, Róisín Colohan, FareShare NI Operations Manager, said as the winter months approach, they are expecting even more demand for their services. She said: “People are being hit by so many different areas at the moment.
“I always think we haven’t reocvered from coronavirus because after COVID we had the cost of living crisis, Brexit, we had the war in Ukraine. We’re hearing now the food prices are continuing to increase and that’s where people are being hit the most.
“It’s having an impact on families, on single people, everyone is being impacted in some way. As a result, we are seeing a rise in demand, and we’re trying to make sure people are getting access to good high quality, nutritious food which we can provide.”
Róisín said many people in food poverty do not reach out for support. She is urging anyone in need to make sure they reach out to their local community food banks for guidance.
“I think it’s really important to say people maybe aren’t going to come forward, so we’re seeing around one in six people experiencing food poverty. But that number’s probably not correct, as there’s people who won’t come forward and ask for help,” she explained.
“I’m always telling people to please come and speak up, you’re not on your own in this. Being in poverty can be such an isolating time, it can bring on stress and mental health problems, and the sooner you reach out for help, the sooner you can get support. There are so many fabulous community groups on the ground doing brilliant work, so do reach out if you are struggling financially at the moment.”
FareShare Volunteers Co-Ordinator, Siobhan Rocks, has been working for the charity for seven years and said demand in the past two or three years has trebled. She said: “There has been a massive increase in demand for our food in that time. It’s indeed a challenge for us then to get enough food to meet those demands.
“Demand has probably trebled in the last three years due to after Covid. It’s shocking to know that a mother and father can both be in work, and still in food poverty. It’s hearbreaking to be so close to and aware of what’s happening, but I’m also very proud of the work we’re doing here.”
In the last weekend of November, Tesco are holding a Winter Food Collection for FareShare, where volunteers can work one shift in Tesco over the weekend to help collect food in the run up to Christmas.
Siobhan said: “The shift is just three hours and the difference it makes will be phenomenal, that food will be in time for Christmas Day, Christmas dinner. And it’s good to know that when you sit down for your Christmas dinner at home, you have also contributed to other people having a really good Christmas Day.”
Surplus food that is donated from FareShare comes from many sources, including wholesalers, local producers, and retailers. Musgrave is one of many donating to the charity, and has been donating surplus food through their warehouse and supply chain for the past three years.
Musgrave Brand Communications Manager, Carol Mashall, said: “This year alone we’ve donated 6.72 tonnes of surplus food, which avoids it going to waste and has provided the equivalent of about 16,000 meals to people throughout Northern Ireland.
“We know that there’s so many visits to food banks now and the cost of living has increased so much, so hopefully these donations go some way to alleviating that burden on some people.”
To find out more about the work FareShare Northern Ireland do, and to get involved in volunteering, click here.
Video by Belfast Live videographer Harry Bateman.
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