Collaboration, big ambitions and bacon butties at Plymouth Argyle’s Home Park

People came together in the spirit of collaboration at our first ever Spring Summit as we announced big ambitions to expand our reach across Devon and Cornwall. 

More than 120 charities, food suppliers, businesses, local networks, civic leaders, educators and changemakers from across the South West gathered at Plymouth Argyle’s Home Park in a joint bid to tackle hunger and food waste in the region.

FareShare South West CEO, Lucy Bearn, spoke about the urgent need for a new warehouse in Plymouth to enable us to expand our reach through Devon and Cornwall to meet growing need.

We also showcased the inspirational work of some of our partner organisations, who make a real difference in their communities, and heard from civic and business leaders who support our mission to connect the dots between food waste and hunger.

As we mark the milestone of providing food for 4 million meals in Devon and Cornwall, the need for bigger premises is pressing, as is the need for lasting change to fix our broken food system. 

What was inspirational to see was the motivation from so many across the region to be part of better and work to make a difference in the face of immense challenges.

Why we need a new warehouse 

Speaking about the need for a new warehouse, Lucy said: “Our current warehouse is simply bursting at the seams. Securing a new, larger facility is essential, not just for space, but to ensure that all surplus food we rescue can reach those who need it most. 

“There are very specific challenges in Devon and Cornwall. 19% of children in Devon are currently living in poverty. 23% of children in Cornwall are living in poverty.  This rises to 35% in parts of Torbay and 42% in some parts of North Devon and Bodmin.” 

We shared some hard truths. The fact that if food waste were a country, it would be the 3rd biggest creator of CO2 emissions; that the UK lags far behind Europe, behind the USA, in redistributing food to people. 

‘I want to see a better life for young people’ 

We also heard from those who are working to be part of the solution, including Dr Clare Pettinger, who helped us see the individual behind the statistics, and Kelly Fritszche from Plymouth Food Cooperatives, who inspired the room by sharing the impact on local people of coming together to share healthy food.

Richard Stevens from Plymouth Citybus, Tania Clark from Fentenfenna Farm, Bex Tonks from St Ewe Eggs and Alice Young from Argyle Community Trust joined a lively panel to talk about how and why they’re committed to making a difference. 

Speaking about his ongoing support for our work, Richard said: 

“I’m sat here because I want to see a better life in Plymouth. I want to see a better life for young people.” 

Tania talked about the power of collaboration:  

“Food poverty is embedded into our society so we can’t get away from that. But what I want to stress is that what we’re doing isn’t pointless. So, the collaboration and partnerships are really important.” 

Bex outlined why education is a key part of the solution: 

“From a farmer’s perspective, we’re actually quite good at producing food and we’ve got enough food in the UK that we don’t need to be importing lots and lots of food. But the disconnect between actually knowing what to do with it is the problem.  

“We need to bring food tech back into schools so kids actually recognise what value that food can give and not looking at the value as the lowest cost because that is the wrong use of value when we’re talking about food.” 

Kelly talked through the food cooperative model, which is open to everyone and run by members: 

“We will set up anywhere that anybody will take us; a church, a community hall, a social club, we have them running everywhere. It really is a lovely thing to be part of.”

“They are open to absolutely everyone, there is no means testing. Lots of our members work part time or full time and are struggling to pay their food bills.”

Kelly finished by saying: “Thank you to FareShare South West. We will be forever grateful for everything we can do thanks to our collaboration together.”

‘Breaking that cycle has to be our mission’ 

Our work empowers communities to turn an environmental problem into lasting social good. Yet, the rising need highlights the need for systematic change. 

Taking to the stage in Home Park, Luke Pollard, Labour MP for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport, said:  “What we need to do is not just deal with the immediacy of those hungry kids but deal with the structural problems; food insecurity, of poverty, of structural deprivation. 

“We have to deal with the fact that too many of our young people are growing up in a world that locks them into a cycle where they are not able to grow properly, which will produce health impacts for the entirety of their lives, not be able to learn properly, which will produce a lower level of attainment for the rest of their lives, and creates a cycle.  

“Breaking that cycle has to be our mission.”

A huge thank you to Jane and Simon Hallett of Plymouth Argyle for their ongoing support and for providing the most spectacular venue, and our partners Luscombe Drinks for topping up our goody bags with some welcome refreshments. 
 
And thank you to everyone who came, listened, asked questions and understood the scale of the challenge. We’ve done a lot with a little. Now we need to do more, with more. 

How you can help

We are calling on businesses to lend support, whether it’s through volunteering, corporate partnerships, financial donations, pro bono expertise or help sourcing new premises.