I have visited FareShare Merseyside’s Speke warehouse to talk to staff and volunteers and to see how they’ve been coping with increased demand. Like many food charities the Tory cost of living crisis has impacted greatly on their ability to operate on the same scale just as demand rises and donations fall, and it is to their great credit that Ann Dobie and her team of over 60 staff and volunteers have been able to keep going.

FareShare offers a membership scheme for charities, community groups, social supermarkets and schools where they pay for a weekly food delivery sourced from donations, including from large supermarkets who send their excess food – not their waste food – to FareShare for distribution. FareShare Merseyside supports over 200 local groups, making a real impact on hunger across the city region. Meanwhile their volunteers gain skills and experience that many have taken into employment with the accreditation they have earned.

You can hear below Ann speak about the challenges facing food charities and how FareShare makes such a difference to local communities.