Distribution sector comes together in move to rescue more edible food

The charitable and community food redistribution sector has come together with a pledge to triple food redistribution in the United Kingdom over the next decade. 

To show their commitment the seven main redistributors; The Bread and Butter Thing, City Harvest, Community Shop, Feeding Britain, Felix, His Church, Neighbourly and Xcess Network have all signed a new covenant pledging to achieve this long-term goal, which is also supported by the anti-poverty charity and community of food banks, Trussell.

The covenant is part of the larger national programme to redistribute surplus food, which was announced by former PM Keir Starmer in May 2026 after the King’s Speech.

The redistribution covenant is made up of 18 principles that cover a wide range of topics, all of which are important to the sector.

Matthew van Duyvenbode, co-CEO of Trussell says ​“The practical principles of this covenant will help to support community organisations like food banks, which have been pushed to breaking point by persistently high levels of need in our communities. But it is hugely important that one of the first commitments is ensuring food redistribution is not seen as a way to solve food insecurity. We believe this work must be accompanied by policies that tackle the root causes of poverty, hunger and hardship, and there is real power in this group collectively supporting those efforts.”

It’s estimated there is over 1 billion meals worth of easily accessible, edible food currently going to waste in the sector. Vic Harper, CEO of The Bread and Butter Thing said: ​“We recognise that in any complex food system, there will always be large volumes of unavoidable high-quality, nutritious surplus food. While progress has been made on how much of that is being redistributed, clearly more can be done. Everyone involved wants to see that food being used to deliver not only a social impact but an environmental one.”

Steve Butterworth from Neighbourly adds: ​“Food waste is a huge environmental issue, between 6 and 7% of greenhouse gas emissions come from food waste. By reducing it, we are not only cutting the amount of harmful greenhouse gases released by rotting food, but ensuring the resources put into growing, picking, packing and transporting that food are not needlessly wasted.” 

The signees have over 30 years’ experience in food rescue and redistribution, Richard Humphrey, Director of Operations from His Church said: ​“The covenant will focus efforts for all of us on incrementally increasing existing sources and securing new sources of food. We believe by working together, our sector can overcome significant barriers to redistribution and unlock more ​“hard to reach” surplus food, in line with the food waste hierarchy. There has genuinely never been a more important time for surplus food to be redistributed for the good of our people and our planet.”

The covenant sets out a shared approach to governance, programme management, food sourcing, logistics and allocation, enabling charities and community food redistributors to collaborate to secure and redistribute more surplus food.

It also sets that when it comes to policy, charities and community food redistributors will lobby and influence on behalf of the sector with one voice. Gary Stott from Community Shop said: ​“Having a joined-up approach to creating change is key. As a group we know getting the government to make policy changes will be needed alongside what we and food businesses are doing. This is the first time the charitable and community food redistribution organisations have come together on this scale, and it is a clear demonstration of our collective belief and commitment to finding new and sustainable ways to increase the amount of perfectly good surplus food that is being redistributed and used to support people and communities.”

Andrew Forsey, National Director of Feeding Britain adds: ​“The recent heatwaves have triggered more discussion around food security and what more must be done to improve UK resilience. Ensuring perfectly edible food is not going to waste needs to be part of discussions for Andy Burnham’s new government. This covenant shows our sector is taking this work seriously and our long terms policies push for redistribution to be embedded into existing food and circular economy strategies.”

One of the other areas the covenant covers is funding. Richard Gammage CEO at City Harvest and co-chair of the Xcess Network said: ​“As with any policy change, for us as a sector to achieve our goals it is vital to secure long-term and sustainable funding. As part of our collective pledge, we have agreed on several principles around funding to ensure it’s spent in the best possible way. It will, for example, be used to improve and develop existing redistribution infrastructure rather than creating something new that may already exist elsewhere. We are determined that public funding is equitably distributed and directed towards the cost of sourcing and transporting additional food, for us to distribute.”

As a sector, all the charities and community food redistributors understand this covenant is a starting point for how they will work together to deliver the programme. As the work develops, further agreements may be required to support delivery or navigate conflicts of interest. This first step will make sure more food is made available to the millions facing food insecurity. Charlotte Hill OBE CEO of Felix adds: ​“We know food has the power to do so much good. For the organisations we support food, is a catalyst that creates change. Surplus food saves charities money and brings people in; from there they can access further support, advice, training or activities. Shared meals can combat loneliness, can reduce stress on tight budgets, build stronger communities and help children concentrate at school. Our joint hope is by coming together we really will see a future where good food is no longer wasted and instead fuels fuller lives.”