A HAMPSHIRE food charity has diverted surplus food to create over 1.5 million free meals for people in need.

FareShare Southern Central has saved 678 tonnes of fresh, in-date food from waste by diverting it to disadvantaged people in the area - a 22 per cent increase on last year.

The food was given out between April of this year and April 2018.

A network of 58 organisations in Southampton alone regularly receive food from FareShare – including school breakfast clubs, domestic violence refuges, older people’s lunch clubs and food banks – with over an estimated 13,000 people accessing food.

Last year, FareShare provided 266.3 tonnes of surplus food to these projects which was enough to provide 634,000 meals.

The charity takes surplus food from the food industry that can’t be sold in shops, either because of packaging errors or a short shelf life, but is still good to eat and redistributes it to frontline charities and community groups.

Food items and categories redistributed include fresh meat and fish, fruit and vegetables, ready meals, milk and cheeses.

With a depot in Totton, it serves a network of 165 organisations across Hampshire and Dorset - which include school breakfast clubs, domestic violence refuges, older people’s lunch clubs, food banks and hospices.

A national survey found that, on average, each charity saves £7,900 from its yearly food bill by using food from FareShare, with one in five charities saying that without that food they’d have to close. The food also helps the charities provide healthier, more nutritious meals, with 77% saying it’s improved their client’s diets.

Development Manager for FareShare, Claire Martin, said: "Times are tough for charities, with local authority cuts continuing to bite. The food we redistribute is great quality and tastes just like the food you’d eat at home. It’s amazing that we can take something that could been thrown away and turn it into something that creates enormous social benefit."

Senior Recovery Worker at Society of St James, a rehabilitation centre for vulnerable people in Southampton, Liz Williams, said: “Our membership with the charity makes a lot of difference for the people who attend. We provide cooked, nutritious meals as part of the day centre service, and whatever food we have left over we provide to our beneficiaries as food parcels. FareShare food is a great boost to their diet."