Meet field&flower, one of FareShare South West’s regional food partners. Field&flower are a small-scale, sustainable meat box company based in Somerset. They specialise in top quality, free range meat from South West farms which they deliver across the country.
In 2017, they approached FareShare South West to find a responsible source for their food surplus that follows the food waste guidelines, which calls for companies to feed people first. We were more than happy to help!
Since teaming up with field&flower, we have redistributed over 210kgs of top quality meat- from prime rump steaks to freshly caught fish. This is all good, in-date food which has been saved from waste, and is going instead to feed vulnerable people in our community. We have delivered field&flower meat to charities of all shapes and sizes across the South West, from homeless shelters in Taunton to community centres in Gloucester.
FSSW follows rigid food safety guidelines and has the capacity to store and distribute fresh foods in our warehouse fridges and refrigerated vans, which means we can guarantee field&flower’s meat will be delivered safely.
‘It’s been great working with FareShare. We’re so pleased that the surplus from our weekly deliveries is being redistributed, rather than wasted. All of our products are cut to order, so if a customer cancels their order too late in the day we’re left with excess meat. The fact that FareShare redistribute our products to charities and organisations in our local area makes it even better.’ James Flower, field&flower co-founder.
As with any food company, occasionally surplus food is produced which cannot be sold for any number of reasons which do not affect the quality of the meat itself. For example, if an order is cancelled last minute, it is more cost-effective for the company to send it to FareShare South West than to return it to their depot.
“The nice thing about field&flower is the quality- it is great to be able to give prime cuts of meat to charities who are often on restricted budgets, serving people who have very little. Field&flower are a great local food partner and we look forward to continuing our relationship with them!” Charlie Mason, Operations and Warehouse Manager at FSSW.
“FareShare has enabled BAPP to open the minds (and mouths!) of hundreds of children and families. Children have tried lots of new things, including smoked cod, venison, guacamole and lentils. A group of 26 children and their parents last week tried duck for the first time and absolutely loved it!” –Bath Area Play Project, FSSW member.
“The food which we receive from FareShare is always of the highest quality. Many of the people we serve are homeless and rely on the service we provide. Many live in hostels and squats and this is their main source of food. If we did not receive food from FareShare we would find it very difficult to provide such high quality and nutritious meals.” Wild Goose Café, Bristol
