Skip to content
Search
AI Powered
Latest Stories

Ranjit Singh Boparan calls on food makers to help alleviate food insecurity

Ranjit Singh Boparan calls on food makers to help alleviate food insecurity
2 Sisters Food Group

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.”

More for you

A woman enters the Selfridges department store

A woman enters the Selfridges department store on December 13, 2024 in London, England

Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images

Retail faces mixed fortunes in 2025 amid cost pressures, AI opportunities, and high street revival


The UK retail sector is bracing for a challenging but opportunity-filled 2025, according to Jacqui Baker, head of retail at RSM UK. While the industry grapples with rising costs and heightened crime, advancements in artificial intelligence and a revival of the high street offer potential pathways to growth, she said.

Keep ReadingShow less
unsafe soft drinks seized in Southend

Unsafe soft drinks seized in Southend

Photo: Southend-on-Sea City Council

1,100 unsafe soft drinks seized in Southend safety crackdown

Southend-on-Sea City Council officials have secured food condemnation orders from Chelmsford Magistrates Court, resulting in the seizure and destruction of 1,100 unauthorised soft drinks.

The condemned drinks, including Mountain Dew, 7-UP, Mirinda, and G Fuel energy drinks, were found during routine inspections of food businesses across Southend by the council’s environmental health officers.

Keep ReadingShow less
Charity Super.Mkt at Brent Cross Shopping centre in north London

A customer browses clothes inside Charity Super.Mkt at Brent Cross Shopping centre in north London on, December 17, 2024

Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images

Brits kindle Christmas spirit with second-hand gifts

Bursting with customers one afternoon the week before Christmas, a second-hand charity shop in London's Marylebone High Street looked even busier than the upscale retailers surrounding it.

One man grabbed two puzzle sets and a giant plush toy as a present for friends, another picked out a notebook for his wife.

Keep ReadingShow less
Nothing is more important than your Mental Elf

Nothing is more important than your Mental Elf

Lancashire Mind’s 11th Mental Elf fun run was its biggest and best yet – a sell-out event with more than 400 people running and walking in aid of the mental charity, plus dozens more volunteering to make the day a huge success.

The winter sun shone on Worden Park in Leyland as families gathered for either a 5K course, a 2K run, or a Challenge Yours’Elf distance which saw many people running 10K with the usual running gear replaced with jazzy elf leggings, tinsel and Christmas hats.

Keep ReadingShow less
A woman walks past a window display promoting an ongoing sale

A woman walks past a window display promoting an ongoing sale, on December 13, 2024 in London, England.

Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images

Retail sales disappoint before Christmas

UK retail sales rose less than expected in the runup to Christmas, according to official data Friday that deals a fresh blow to government hopes of growing the economy.

Separate figures revealed a temporary reprieve for prime minister Keir Starmer, however, as public borrowing fell sharply in November.

Keep ReadingShow less