Where's The Food?

The ‘Where’s The Food?’ campaign aimed to secure government funding for surplus food redistribution, building on FareShare’s 2018/2019 pilot success. Despite past achievements, DEFRA discontinued funding. The campaign sought to highlight the program's social, economic, and environmental benefits, emphasizing its role in combating food waste and supporting charities during the cost-of-living crisis.

Developed in-house, the campaign used a multi-faceted approach involving political lobbying, digital advocacy, media engagement, and stakeholder collaboration. Key challenges included political instability and civil service resistance. Methods included lobbying, digital advocacy, media engagement, and stakeholder collaboration. The campaign team met with key figures, exhibited at party conferences, and leveraged FareShare’s Parliamentary Supporters network. They issued a public call to action via a petition, utilized advocacy tools on FareShare’s website, and employed Power BI for localized data visualization. The campaign secured extensive press coverage to amplify messages and build public support. The campaign’s success was marked by a £15 million funding commitment from PM Rishi Sunak in February 2024. The team met with over 60 MPs and produced well-evidenced briefings. A petition gathered 115,500 signatures, and media reach included 800 pieces of coverage, including the front page of The Evening Standard. Partnerships with food industry stakeholders and public backing from the National Farmer’s Union were crucial. The funding will potentially unlock 28,000 tonnes of surplus food, providing 68 million meals and preventing 57,000 tonnes of CO2e emissions and 74 billion litres of water waste. The campaign demonstrated creativity and cost-effectiveness, with a 5101% return on investment.