Cook

COOK have been working with FareShare since 2019 to divert valuable frozen food and ingredients to charities who make them into meals for those in need. More recently they have utilised FareShare’s Surplus with Purpose fund to unlock more surplus food across their kitchens.

The COOK kitchens works much like a kitchen at home, with cooks preparing separate components which are then put together by hand to make a nutritious meal, for example fish, a creamy sauce, and mashed potatoes to make a fish pie. Inevitably, this means they sometimes end up with small amount of surplus for individual components, like sauces or meat.

Working closely with the Food Team at FareShare, the team at COOK have taken on an innovative approach, intercepting the production line to offer FareShare surplus from a variety of points in the kitchen. A process has been developed where surplus cooked ingredients can be frozen and redistributed, FareShare’s Surplus with Purpose fund covers the cost of packaging and associated labour, meaning there are no additional costs to COOK. To date COOK have diverted enough surplus food for over 23,000  meals, providing FareShare’s network with invaluable sources of protein and long-life tinned goods and preserves. The aim is to continue to collaborate and grow this number significantly.

Lisa Darbyshire, FareShare Commercial Manager said: “Working with COOK to develop a way of taking surplus directly from the production line is hugely exciting.   We now have a system with COOK, and also with other companies, that we are planning to scale up. It will mean more food going to the people who really need it.”

Andy Stephens, Head of Sustainable Food at COOK, said: “FareShare’s ability to collect and redistribute a variety of different surplus food to organizations bringing people together over good food makes them a valuable partner as we strive to increase the proportion of our surplus going to people rather than AD.”