Over half of 2019 Tory voters think government isn’t doing enough to tackle food waste

28 September 2023

FareShare is calling on the Government to to stop food waste while millions are in food poverty: HERE

A new UK-wide YouGov survey has found that more than half (58%) of Conservative voters¹ who responded say the Government is not doing enough to get unbought food to people instead of letting it go to waste.

The survey was commissioned by food waste charity FareShare, who say the results are indicative of the frustration of the Government’s own supporters’ at millions of tonnes of food being wasted, while one in five people are in food insecurity.

The results have been announced just days before this year’s Conservative Party Conference, where MPs and members alike will be looking ahead at a crucial year for the party.

FareShare works with the food industry – from supermarket retailers to farmers and small-scale growers – to redistribute good to eat food to a network of 8,500 charities and community groups across the UK who deliver vital community services. FareShare’s work to redistribute food has been found to save the state £118 million a year through savings to the NHS, childcare costs and expenditure on destroying food waste. While reducing the harmful effects of greenhouse gas emissions caused by food waste.

FareShare faces skyrocketing demand due to the cost of living crisis, yet 3 million tonnes of edible food goes to waste on UK farms every year while the charities FareShare supports are facing increasing demand for help.

FareShare’s survey also found that over two-thirds (67%) of all voters found the Government was doing too little.

The breakdown of the demographics of people who felt the Government was doing too little to tackle food waste include:

• Almost three quarters (72%) living in rural areas
• 66% were people who lived outside of London (68% in London)
• The statistic remained similar across all age groups, with 25-49 year olds being the highest percentage to agree at 68%, with 64% of voters over 65.

Only 14% of survey respondents who voted Conservative in the 2019 election believed the Government was doing enough, highlighting the risk to the Conservative Party as it looks ahead to the next general election.

FareShare has calculated that by committing £25 million per year, the Government could deliver 42,500 tonnes of surplus food – the equivalent of 100 million meals – to those experiencing food insecurity. Most of this funding would make it cost-neutral for farmers and food businesses to redistribute surplus food by paying for harvesting, labour, packaging and transport. Without access to more food, most charities FareShare supports say they may have to reduce their services, impacting people across the UK and placing more strain on public finances.

George Wright, CEO at FareShare said: “Hunger in the UK isn't a problem; it's a crisis. It is a crisis where people are left wondering how they will afford to eat every day. We have an extraordinary network of local charities and community groups, delivering food to every local authority in the UK. Despite the efforts of FareShare’s staff, volunteers and food partners, delivering record-breaking volumes of food, we cannot keep up with the skyrocketing demand.  There is more surplus food out there, but it costs more than our farmers can afford to extract it. We need the Government to step up and help get more food from farms to people instead of letting it go to waste.  FareShare has the public support of 130 MPs from across the house, which is 20% of Parliament. 36 Conservative MPs have backed our campaign for funding, and this survey shows that the voters who elected them agree with us as well. When so many people are struggling to eat while millions of tonnes of food go to waste on our farms every year, we’re left with one simple question for the Government - where’s the food?  The upcoming party conference is the ideal opportunity to show leadership, and support people in need and farmers across the country.”

Judith Vickers, Operations Manager at Manchester’s oldest homelessness charity, Lifeshare, said: "Lifeshare's Rough Sleepers' Breakfast Project has already served twice as many people this year as in the entirety of 2022, with our busiest season just starting. Our costs have tripled. Support from organisations like FareShare helps to combat these rising costs when public donations are low and demand for food support is high. With so many people struggling we all need to work together to help the vulnerable people in our communities. Redistributing edible food and reducing food waste helps everyone from the farmers, to the grocery shops, to the homeless people we serve each week."

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