01/02/2012
Meals Destined For Landfill Distributed To The Hungry
Perfectly good food diverted from landfill feeds tens of thousands of vulnerable, hungry people on the island of Ireland.
The National food charity FareShare, which opened its Belfast depot off Sandy Row last year, is working to relieve food poverty on the island of Ireland. The operation receives surplus food from retailers and manufacturers throughout Ireland and distributes it to local charities, delivering tens of thousands of meals to vulnerable, hungry people.
Environment Minister Alex Attwood, whose Department helped to fund the scheme, said: "The FareShare project is providing a vital service to communities in our area. If it wasn't for this project a lot of discarded food might be wasted. Through engaging local volunteers FareShare manage to re-distribute this food to local communities that in this current economic climate need it most.
"As well as helping to reduce over 23.5 tonnes of food from landfill, this project is making a real difference to charities across Northern Ireland such as Homestart Antrim, Lighthouse Hostel and Friendship House. I would like to commend FairShare and their volunteers for their dedication to this worthy cause. It is a measure of our times that there is a demand for projects like this. I will be discussing with the scheme how it might develop and how the NI Government may help."
Alison Upton, Business Development Officer for Fareshare Ireland added: "It is anticipated that the new Belfast depot will supply food to 40 charities by the end of the first year. The food redistributed has already contributed towards over 50000 meals for marginalised people. We are delighted with the progress we have made, and look forward to continuing to provide this service which we hope will grow from strength to strength."
The Belfast depot has been opened with support from the Department for the Environment NI, Food Standards Agency NI and SafeFood (FSPB) and is being supported by substantial contributions from Montgomery Refrigeration, RedSky group and the local media company Adbugs.
(GK)
The National food charity FareShare, which opened its Belfast depot off Sandy Row last year, is working to relieve food poverty on the island of Ireland. The operation receives surplus food from retailers and manufacturers throughout Ireland and distributes it to local charities, delivering tens of thousands of meals to vulnerable, hungry people.
Environment Minister Alex Attwood, whose Department helped to fund the scheme, said: "The FareShare project is providing a vital service to communities in our area. If it wasn't for this project a lot of discarded food might be wasted. Through engaging local volunteers FareShare manage to re-distribute this food to local communities that in this current economic climate need it most.
"As well as helping to reduce over 23.5 tonnes of food from landfill, this project is making a real difference to charities across Northern Ireland such as Homestart Antrim, Lighthouse Hostel and Friendship House. I would like to commend FairShare and their volunteers for their dedication to this worthy cause. It is a measure of our times that there is a demand for projects like this. I will be discussing with the scheme how it might develop and how the NI Government may help."
Alison Upton, Business Development Officer for Fareshare Ireland added: "It is anticipated that the new Belfast depot will supply food to 40 charities by the end of the first year. The food redistributed has already contributed towards over 50000 meals for marginalised people. We are delighted with the progress we have made, and look forward to continuing to provide this service which we hope will grow from strength to strength."
The Belfast depot has been opened with support from the Department for the Environment NI, Food Standards Agency NI and SafeFood (FSPB) and is being supported by substantial contributions from Montgomery Refrigeration, RedSky group and the local media company Adbugs.
(GK)
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Northern Ireland WeatherToday:A sunny but frosty start for many. However cloud increases by midday with a few showers reaching the north coast, these mostly light but spreading inland this afternoon. Chilly. Maximum temperature 8 °C.Tonight:A rather cloudy evening with scattered showers. Becoming drier through the night with some good clear spells developing and a patchy frost away from coasts. Minimum temperature 0 °C.