One of Britain’s leading food entrepreneurs Ranjit Singh Boparan, owner of 2 Sisters Food Group, has urged other manufacturers to join him to help tackle the continuing food insecurity crisis gripping UK households.
Boparan has recently signaled his intention to increase food donations from his food manufacturing empire following his announcement last November to work in partnership with charity FareShare and retailers.
Millions of people – including one in five families with children – have gone hungry or skipped meals in recent weeks because they could not regularly afford to buy groceries, according to new food insecurity data.
According to the latest Food Foundation tracker, 15 per cent of UK households – equivalent to approximately eight million adults and three million children – have experienced food insecurity in 2024, as the cost-of-living crisis continues to hit the pockets of low-income families. It is estimated this figure has doubled in the last three years.
Boparan said, “We have a moral responsibility to do the right thing. It cannot be right that in the UK in 2024 people are struggling to feed themselves. No-one should go to sleep on an empty stomach at night, especially not children.
“I have previously committed to supporting the King’s Coronation Food Project and in partnership with M&S, we are working to boost Fareshare’s distribution efforts. However, I do feel it is time for individual companies who make food to step up and help alleviate this problem.
“This also requires a big effort from our supply chain and it’s fantastic to see so much goodwill and support. Without the support of companies like Magnavale who are storing these products for us, this entire distribution effort wouldn’t be possible.”
In November 2023, Ranjit met His Majesty the King in support of the Coronation Food Project following his pre-Christmas donation of one million meals, donated in partnership with M&S.
The Coronation Food Project, in collaboration with the IGD, encourages major supermarkets and food manufacturers to join FareShare's innovative "Alliance Manufacturing" programme to redistribute even more surplus food to charities nationwide.
As proud supporters of FareShare, Boparan has set colleagues, his supply chain and customers a challenging and ambitious target to donate five million meals/servings annually.
These donations will be through a combination of efforts and over one million meals will be donated with retail partner M&S. The remaining four million will be food donated using surplus products and leveraging critical support from across the supply chain.
Colleagues at Boparan’s breaded chicken facility in Thetford have stepped up to the challenge and are donating one million meal servings to FareShare in May.
The food donated is proudly branded with the FareShare logo and include products such as coated chicken steaks, coated chicken mini fillet tenders, coated boneless chicken pieces and coated bone-in chicken portions.
Raf Mrozik, Thetford Site Director, said, “The Thetford team are delighted to be able to produce and pack good quality food for FareShare. This initiative helps us play our part in tackling food poverty through the great work that FareShare does and is something that we are all very proud to be part of.”
George Wright, CEO of FareShare, added, “As FareShare enters its 30th year it is important that we look ahead to the future of tackling food waste. We want to work collaboratively to innovate and find ways to make sure more good-to-eat food gets to people who need it, rather than to waste.
“By securing the support of partners in the supply chain to donate the equivalent of a million portions of chicken, Ranjit Singh Boparan is setting a great example to businesses across the food and manufacturing industries to share resources to help unlock the social and environmental impact of surplus food.
“We are thrilled to see Ranjit leading the way. Working together will help us combat the environmental impact of food waste and help the 8,500 charities we support strengthen communities up and down the country.”
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Alex Rimmer
