Fareshare Midlands used the Cost of Living Fund to improve service delivery logistics.
Fareshare Midlands is a crucial part of the Fareshare UK network, to source and redistribute good quality, in date surplus food which would have otherwise gone to waste. Part of the wider Fareshare network, Fareshare Midlands concentrates on the needs of the community within the Midlands all the way from the East coast to the Welsh border and supports in the facilitation of getting high quality and in-date surplus food from the food industry to the communities who need it.
Developed in 2008 as Fareshare Leicester, throughout the years the territory that they operated in grew resulting in them evolving to Fareshare East Midlands in 2016. Through its successes and demand on service, the organisation eventually rebranded as Fareshare Midlands as it more reflected the area that this particular branch serviced and following the integration of FareShare West Midlands from FareShare UK
They provide a viable solution to the food industry for their surplus food to stop it from going to waste which in turn produces a loss of profit and has negative impacts on the environment. They use the surplus food collected and distribute it to local community groups and charities who in turn distribute it to those in need; with 88% of their service users living in the most deprived areas of the UK. Fareshare Midlands has partnered with around 550 local community organisations who support in the food distribution to roughly 85,000 individuals in need.
The food arrives in one of three dedicated warehouses in the Midlands where it’s sorted by a team of staff and volunteers and then distributed to a variety of charities and community organisations such as schools, homeless shelters and more, who in turn provide nutritious meals and and food parcels to vulnerable people, some of whom would struggle to eat if it wasn’t for the services provided.
During COVID, Fareshare Midlands was utilised by the local government to support the community and their services rapidly increased in production as they signed new contracts to provide food to local communities, but local community group numbers were dwindling due to the rising cost to keep open.
Fareshare Midlands has had to restructure how they worked, testing out new strategies and restructuring staffing to ensure that their services were still being received by those who needed it. Throughout Brexit, the pandemic, the conflict in Ukraine and now the subsequent cost-of-living crisis, demand has been high for these types of services and is showing to stay consistent for a long time coming.
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The Cost of Living Fund has enabled us to do is almost reorder what Fareshare Midlands does. It's basically giving us a bit of space to think about what do we want to do in the future, how big do we want to be? But ultimately, how can we be a more efficient, financially viable and sustainable organisation?”
Simone Connelly
Chief Executive, Fareshare Midlands
The Cost of Living Fund has been utilised by Fareshare Midlands which supplies them with not just the funds, but the breathing room to take a step back and figure out how best to go forward and streamline services. The funding that they receive is being used in a two-pronged approach to the business. Firstly, a portion will go towards the cash flow of the business, allowing breathing room for the demand on services and space for Fareshare Midlands to recoup and re-strategise.
The second aspect that the funding will focus on is fundraising and supporting the streamlining of services and work on the logistics of the delivery to ensure that the process from start to finish is working as efficiently as possible for their members. For example, taking inspiration from Amazon, Fareshare Midlands is looking to invest in technology that improves the efficieny of their operation which should lead to them being able to grow without significant additional costs. By streamlining services and polishing up the delivery, Fareshare Midlands aims to build a constant delivery of food, reducing warehouse space and increasing their delivery capacity.
By using the Cost of Living fund for working capital and to improve their service logistics, Fareshare Midlands projects improvements in their reach and their delivery, ensuring that members are receiving quality food parcels in a timely and efficient manner which results in supporting even more members of the community.
To find out more about the Cost of Living Fund click here.
