FareShare Community Food Membership

Our full membership service gives you a weekly supply of fresh food and store cupboard staples for your charity or community group. Perhaps you need fresh meat and veg for your lunch club or tins and packets for your food bank. Whatever your organisation’s needs, you decide the type of food and how much you receive.

When you become a member you are linked with one of our 21 Regional Centres. They manage your membership and provide the food to you. Register your interest in our form on the right and your local team will be in touch to take you through the sign-up process.

Haven’t got a Regional Centre near you? Never fear, you can still receive food through our FareShare Go scheme, which reaches most corners of the UK.

As a FareShare Member, you could receive regular deliveries of food.

About the food

The food you receive has become surplus – which means that it is not going to be sold – before it has hit the supermarket shelf. It could be from a grower, a manufacturer or a retailer’s distribution centre.

Why choose Community Food Membership?

• Choose how much food you receive. On average our members receive five trolleys worth of food per week, but you can tell us how much your organisation needs.
• Choose the type of food. You can get everything from meat, dairy and fish to veg, pasta and tins. Your local Regional Centre works with you to create your food profile. The exact food you receive depends on what becomes surplus that week. Sometimes you might get unexpected treats as well as good old staples.
• Get a regular supply of food. Collect your order from your local Centre or we may be able to deliver to you.
• We will support you on food safety. Receive advice and guidance regarding food safety best practice from trained staff.
• We provide volunteer opportunities. Your community can volunteer with FareShare to develop skills and training.

Our membership fee

FareShare is a non-profit charity and to remain sustainable our Regional Centres charge members a nominal fee to cover operational costs. This includes warehouse space, chillers, delivery vehicles and fuel. Furthermore, it is a very small percentage of the value of the food supplied to you. To put it in context, our members estimate that if they had to replace the food they receive from FareShare, it would cost them an additional £7,900 per year on average.

Can my organisation receive food?

In order to receive food, your organisation must demonstrate that you are fit to provide a safe food service to your users. Don’t worry, we can help you reach these standards if you are not quite there yet.

You must:

• Register with EHO.
• Be equipped to safely receive, store, prepare and serve food.
• Staff supervising food handling and preparation must hold the IEHO Basic Food Hygiene Course Certificate (or equivalent).
• Staff and volunteers handling food must be trained to do so safely.
• Adhere to food safety legislation and current good practice.