With the need for food support higher now than during the pandemic, how can we do more to support local families? 

Last year, FareShare South West rescued 1,830 tonnes of good-quality food at risk of going to waste, and distributed 664 tonnes of food to over 150 charities in Bristol, BANES and South Gloucestershire alone. That’s enough for 1.6 million meals, reaching around 18,000 people.

But the harsh reality is that 67,000 children are growing up in poverty in the west of England. 30,000 people in Bristol are food insecure including families, individuals and older people who cannot consistently access the food they need. This has lifelong consequences, impacting physical and mental health, educational attainment and long-term life chances.

At FareShare South West, we outgrew our two Bristol hubs in 2022: we simply cannot increase the volume of food we rescue until we can work from a bigger location, but the current commercial market is unaffordable for a charity like ours. Meanwhile, the frontline organisations we work with tell us they don’t have the funds or the space to continue their good work. This places the critical work of the Voluntary, Community, and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector at risk, at a time when it provides an essential lifeline to many, and is needed by many thousands more.

Vital new VCSE and public sector partnership

The West of England Mayoral Combined Authority (WECA) are set to approve plans for a new food and essentials redistribution hub, as part of a new partnership with Bristol Charities and FareShare South West.

Bristol Charities propose to co-invest with WECA in a centrally-located, 30,000 sq ft regional logistics hub to provide a long-term solution to the need for high-quality distribution space, supporting both the growth of FareShare South West and the development of a Multibank-style offer. A Multibank brings together different kinds of support (food, white goods, surplus clothes, bedding, hygiene products, baby products, toys and furniture) under one roof. 

The hub would also offer a fully equipped catering kitchen to provide vital space for cooking projects and community meals; skills and capacity-building support, including training in food hygiene; and other employment support such as work experience and apprenticeships for young people out of work.

“This new unique partnership-led hub would enable FareShare South West to rescue and share food for an additional 3 million meals by 2030; to maximise the impact of our existing logistics operation; to scale up our pioneering employability programme. But more importantly, it would embed a new lever for community resilience in the west, through more food for existing projects, more space to run them, more storage; shared resources and knowledge; and a vital, connected space to create meaningful, lasting change for people in the west.” Lucy Bearn, CEO FareShare South West

“By bringing a leading charity and the public sector together to finance a shared warehouse, we can deliver a step-change for the sector, combining affordable space with access to markets, and creating the conditions for organisations to thrive, not just survive.” Julian Mines, CEO Bristol Charities

Today (30 January 2026) the Mayor and council leaders met and approved the proposal to seek in-principle support for up to £2 million of investment from the regional authority.