Food and Cuisine

Food charity Fareshare’s donations from supermarkets drop

Demand for Fareshare’s help continues to grow, but there’s been a big fall from their biggest donors.

Food waste charity Fareshare has told the BBC it has seen a drop of around 200 tonnes in supermarket surplus donations every month this summer.

The charity said the reduction had come at the same time as demand on the services they support surged.

The BBC understands Fareshare is writing to major supermarkets, asking for an increase in contributions.

Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Asda and Waitrose all told the BBC their donations were steady.

Sainsbury’s and Asda said they were also committed to reducing food waste with Sainsburys acknowledging this could affect donations.

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Fareshare redistributes food waste to smaller charitable and community projects across the UK.

It said there was less waste food due to a combination of ongoing global food production and supply chain issues.

At the same time, supermarkets are striving to be more efficient and waste less, in order to keep prices for their customers low.

Carl Hawkes, head of network at the charity, explained that donations from supermarket warehouses were particularly valuable.

“If you’re a community group trying to make a meal, out of say, beetroot, that’s really hard,” he said.

“Whereas the retail food is very mixed. It’s much easier for our charities and beneficiaries to make meals out of what they send.”

Mr Hawkes showed the BBC around the Barnsley depot in South Yorkshire.

At that location alone, Fareshare is taking in 40 fewer pallets of surplus food each month. It is particularly noticeable in the fridge, he explains, which was less than half full and lacking in staples like meat and dairy.

The charity is at pains to explain they have no problem with supermarkets wasting less – but it poses a challenge for them to continue to support so many charities that depend on waste food.

“Supermarkets at the moment are more willing to sell wonky fruit and veg than they may previously have done, or to sell food with slightly less shelf life on it – and that food would have traditionally have come to us,” he explained.

But he is worried about those in need this winter.

The Barnsley site supports 400 groups, from food banks to breakfast clubs, some homeless shelters and housing associations.

“There are so many people struggling to feed themselves or their families,” Mr Hawkes added.

“As an organisation we would far rather see families fed. It is a shame organisations like this exist but in such times it is great we can provide support to the communities we operate in.”

As well as writing to supermarkets, the charity is casting its net wider, looking into food waste opportunities from British farming and working with a more diverse mix of smaller food manufacturers, hotels and restaurants.

One is Fullers, which makes frozen chips and vegetable products that most major retailers stock under its own brand.

The business has started donating spare stock from its warehouses, as well as the prototype and test food from head office to Fareshare.

Managing director Kevin Smith said it made sense on many levels.

“If we send food to landfill, we get charged for that,” he explained. “It makes absolute commercial sense for us to do it. Plus it feels like we’re doing something that puts back into the community.”

But tapping into waste food as businesses of all kinds seek to be leaner in their operations will pose a challenge. Mr Smith also said that higher demand for products meant the pressure was on to order smart and not make errors that could lead to waste.

The BBC also spoke to manufacturer Kellogg’s, which has a long-standing commitment to back breakfast clubs and has redistributed over 18 million servings of cereal in 2022 so far – more than last year.

But alongside this, the business recognised a drive to reduce waste, too.

“Like every business, we are trying to be as efficient as possible and look at our costs,” said Paul Wheeler, communications director at Kellogg’s UK.

“We are trying to manage down the amount of food we give, which causes a problem. Because as we do that, the demand for Fareshare and other charities is like never before.”

The BBC contacted Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons, Asda and Waitrose regarding food waste donations. All said that supporting charities such as Fareshare was important to them, and that food waste donations as a whole were steady, and to a broad range of organisations.

But alongside this, Sainsbury’s and Asda did also add that reducing food waste was an important commitment within the business.

“We are aware this could impact the volumes we are able to redistribute to charities to support their beneficiaries,” a Sainsbury’s spokesperson explained.

Demand for Fareshare’s help continues to grow, but there’s been a big fall from their biggest donors.

Food and Cuisine

H-E-B Breaks Ground on New Location

H-E-B revealed Wednesday that it has started construction on a new store in Pflugerville, Texas. The 127,000-square-foot location is expected to open in the fall of 2024.

“We are thrilled to start construction on our third store in Pflugerville, a growing community we’ve proudly been a part of for 35 years,” said Cathy Harm, H-E-B’s SVP of central Texas, in a statement. “We look forward to serving our dedicated customers in this part of Travis County with a new store that offers a wide assortment of quality products, innovative services, and the best of what H-E-B has to offer.”

Among the store’s highlights are a True Texas BBQ restaurant, a full-service Pharmacy with a two-lane drive-thru, Curbside and Home Delivery pickup and delivery services with dedicated parking for Curbside customers, and a new fuel station and car wash.

The new location will emphasize fresh, top-quality food options at low prices, according to the retailer.

Location amenities will include:

• Full-service Bakery and Tortilleria that offers a selection of artisan breads, tortillas made in-house, and desserts, pastries, and cakes.

• Deli featuring a large assortment of cheese and charcuterie.

• Wine and Beer department with sampling stations and local, national, and international labels.

• Organic foods and an expanded Healthy Living department.

• Full-service meat market and seafood counter.

• Meal Simple area with chef-inspired ready-to-cook or ready-to-eat options.

• Cooking Connection with live demonstrations and samplings for easy recipes to make at home.

• Sushiya offering handmade sushi selections made in-store daily and an Asian grill with rice bowls, teriyaki, and more.

• Expansive selections in grocery and general merchandise departments.

To give back to the community H-E-B donated a total of $25,000 with gifts of $5,000 each to American Legion Kerlin-Lyerly Post 154, Circle of Hope Community Center, For the Children Inc., Horse Empowered Learning Programs, and Pflugerville Education Foundation.

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Food and Cuisine

Chipotle Pilots Sustainable Restaurant

Chipotle Mexican Grill recently unveiled the plan for an eco-friendly eatery that takes maximum advantage of energy-efficient tools and systems and have taken initiative to use renewable energy from wind and solar energy sources by purchasing certified renewable energy credits.

Chipotle tested out some new features in eateries located in Gloucester, Virginia, and Jacksonville, Florida, with the intention of adding a third site in Castle Rock, Colorado in the summer. In order to strive towards the company’s goals of decreasing carbon emissions by 50 percent before 2030, in comparison to its 2019 achievement, the different restaurant format will soon be found in 7,000 locations in North America.

Chipotle has a goal of reducing environmental impact in all of their restaurants, and to reach it, they are aiming to implement all-electric equipment and elements from their new design in over 100 of their locations by 2024. Laurie Schalow, chief corporate affairs officer at the company, made a statement that they are strongly committed to this target. Our goal is to include aspects of our sustainable restaurant design in many of the new restaurants we are opening.

The distinguishing aspects of Chipotle’s design involve: Using solar panels on rooftops where it is possible. Replace gasoline-powered equipment and systems with all-electric ones. • Water Heaters that use a heat pump.

Food and Cuisine

California May Ban Five Food Additives

It is being reported by CBS news that California may be the first state to prohibit the selling, making, and dispersing of food items that contain certain chemical components associated with cancer risk, reproductive damage, and behavioral complications.

These are the five noxious elements: red pigment 3, titanium dioxide, potassium bromate, bromated vegetable oil, and propylparaben. The use of titanium dioxide and potassium bromate has already been abolished in Europe due to health concerns. Interestingly, these chemicals have been outlawed in China and India, with the latter banning the usage of potassium bromate. Many candies, including Skittles, and some breads have employed the use of these chemicals, respectively.

The U.S. has prohibited the use of Red dye number 3 in cosmetics, despite appeals from business groups asserting that the federal government’s food safety protocol has reviewed and confirmed the security of the five additives. Erik Millstone, an expert in food additives from the University of Sussex in England, made a remark to the press, noting that the majority of Americans are unaware of the risky substances they are consuming.

He emphasized, “People assume that if it is in a store, it must be safe.” The whole account. The expenses for small businesses remain high; Chipotle ceases their legal dispute with Sweetgreen.

Food and Cuisine

FDA to Increase Formula Market Resilience

The FDA has outlined actions it will take to help ensure infants continue to have access to safe, nutritious formula and to increase the resiliency of the U.S. infant formula market and supply.

“Safety and supply go hand-in-hand. We witnessed last year how a safety concern at one facility could be the catalyst for a nationwide shortage. That’s why we are looking to both strengthen and diversify the market, while also ensuring that manufacturers are producing infant formula under the safest conditions possible,” said FDA commissioner Robert M. Califf, M.D., in a statement. “Now, with this strategy, we are looking at how to advance long-term stability in this market and mitigate future shortages, while ensuring formula is safe.”

Key elements of the immediate strategy include:

• Ensuring the industry is aware of requirements to develop and implement redundancy risk management plans.

• Enhancing inspections of infant formula manufacturers and improving infant formula training for investigators.

• Expediting review of premarket submissions for new infant formula products.

• Monitoring the infant formula supply.

• Engaging with U.S. government partners who play a role in mitigating factors that may influence the infant formula supply.

• Collaborating with the USDA to support efforts to build resiliency within its Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children.

• Helping prevent cronobacter sakazakii illnesses associated with the consumption of powdered infant formula.

• Improving consumer education materials relating to infant formula on FDA’s website.

“The events that led up to and ultimately resulted in the voluntary recall of certain infant formula products in February 2022 shocked the infant formula supply in the U.S., creating an unparalleled challenge for parents and caregivers,” said Susan Mayne, Ph.D., director of the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, in a statement. “Since then, the agency has had ongoing and extensive engagement with the infant formula industry to identify and implement opportunities to strengthen preventive control practices. The immediate strategy released today will play an important role in increasing the resiliency of the infant formula market as the agency continues its critical work to improve industry’s processes and programs for the protection of those who rely on infant formula while incentivizing additional infant formula manufacturers to enter the market.”

Food and Cuisine

Southeastern Grocers, Relocalize Partner on Ice

Southeastern Grocers has partnered with Relocalize, an automated food production service, to pilot ice manufacturing in an autonomous micro-factory, designed to help eliminate middle-mile logistics to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions, water waste, and plastic pollution.

The micro-factory is managed by an AI-powered software platform and uses robotics for all production labor. This manufacturing process allows the grocer to scale production and create waste reduction solutions throughout the full lifecycle of the product while lowering its economic and environmental cost.

Through this partnership, SEG has also introduced Party Cubes, a certified plastic-negative, packaged ice that is produced on-site and on-demand at the micro-factory. The product is available at two Jacksonville, Florida locations, including the Lakewood Winn-Dixie store and the grocer’s stand-alone liquor store, WDs Wine, Beer, and Liquor, with plans to expand to the broader market.

“Our partnership with Relocalize meets at the intersection of sustainability and innovation and provides a unique opportunity to offer our customers better ice, in a better package, at a better price – that’s also better for the planet,” said Anthony Hucker, president and CEO for Southeastern Grocers, in a statement. “We plan to pilot ice manufacturing in the world’s first autonomous ice micro-factory in our hometown of Jacksonville, and we are excited to now offer Party Cubes in select local stores as we test and learn with the industry’s first hyper-local, certified plastic-negative, packaged ice.”

Party Cubes cost less for consumers compared to traditional bagged ice, and the leak-proof packaging is recycle-ready. For every pound of plastic used in packaging, Relocalize will remove and recycle two pounds of ocean plastic. Additionally, the process produces zero water waste and reduces trucking carbon dioxide emissions by 90 percent, according to the company.

“Two years ago, we set out on a mission to decarbonize food supply chains. Today, fully autonomous hyper-local food manufacturing becomes a reality through our partnership with Southeastern Grocers,” said Wayne McIntyre, CEO and co-founder of Relocalize.