FareShare South West were operating at 6x their usual capacity for a full year during the pandemic

FareShare South West were operating at 6x their usual capacity for a full year during the pandemic

Posted on: 16 Jun 2021

The team have been distributing food to frontline services, schools and community groups across the region throughout the pandemic.

 

Bristol-based charity FareShare South West have revealed that they scaled their operations by six times from March 2020 - March 2021, as they maintained unwavering support for a growing number of people feeling the impact of the coronavirus crisis.

 

Over the past year, FareShare have distributed more food to South Western frontline charities, schools and community groups than any other 12-month period in their history. 

 

The charity's annual impact report reveals they sourced and redistributed enough food for an incredible 6.1 million meals during that time, thanks largely to the effective launch of a number of emergency food drives at key points in the pandemic.

 

 

A major part of FareShare South West's support strategy over the past year has been their FoodStock 2020 project, which was launched in response to the pandemic, and secured vital food support for a growing number of vulnerable people across the region.

 

Scheduled to conclude in mid-February 2021, the initiative was extended to the end of March to meet demand, going on to distribute more food in its final month alone than FareShare South West did in an entire year between 2018 and 2019.

 

Of course, FareShare's efforts wouldn't have been possible without the support of several Bristol-based charities and organisations, as well as the generosity of hundreds of committed volunteers.

 

In total, the team have worked directly alongside 416 frontline charities, schools and community groups to help more than 50,000 people through the crisis.

 

 

Speaking in the charity's impact report, FareShare South West CEO, Julian Mines, said: “The pandemic laid bare and exacerbated the issue of food poverty that we face here in the UK.

 

“In the early days of the pandemic, the need for food support soared and our frontline partners – though having to operate in very different ways – saw huge demand for their services and increased need to support users with food provisions. 

 

“Stepping up to deliver at this scale across the past year has not been without its challenges and has taken sleepless nights, hundreds of committed volunteers, a supportive community and a staff team I am so proud of.”

 

With emergency operations now coming to a close, FareShare are busy at work implementing new projects and infrastructure to secure the continued support of thousands of people in need across the South West.

 

To read the charity's full 2020/21 impact report, for more information on their work, or to find out how you can get involved with FareShare South West, head to their website.

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Article by:

Matt Robson

 

Editor - 365Bristol.com & LOUD Magazine
 

Matt is a Journalism graduate and writer, passionate about supporting Bristol music, art and independent business. Get in touch via email at matt@365bristol.com.