Dunsters Farm finds Creative Way of Fighting Food Waste with new Partnership

According to the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), food waste caused between 8% and 10% of the emission of gases responsible for global warming in the period of 2010 – 2016. 1 – 7 March 2021, celebrates the UK’s first ever Food Waste Action Week, a chance for all businesses and homes alike to consider their approach to food surplus.

At Dunsters, we believe everyone has a responsibility to minimise the food they waste whether it be recycling at home or changing your business processes it is important we all understand the importance of tackling this global issue – and as a wholesaler it’s important we play our part.

In June 2020, following the unexpected closure of many of our customers in the leisure and education sectors, the team at Dunsters were left with a hefty surplus of food stock that could potentially go to waste. Our commitment to sustainability meant that we must try to find ways to repurpose this stock, but the nature of the timescales created a logistical problem.

In addition to our usual donations to local food poverty charities & projects, we were continually looking for positive ways to distribute our stock within the community but with furloughed staff and reduced capacity, were unable to easily make this link – this was where Too Good to Go came in.

Too Good to Go is an Anti-food Waste App, that saves perfectly good surplus food by redistributing it to local people looking for instant deals. The app lets users shop for surplus food items at restaurants, shops, cafes and wholesalers in their local area for a discounted price.

The App was a great solution for Dunsters as it helped our ongoing issue of surplus stock by connecting us to local people, who wished to purchase a discounted ‘Magic Bag’ to pick up, containing some of our fantastic produce that would have otherwise gone to waste that week.

In addition to our partnership with Too Good To go,https://toogoodtogo.co.uk/en-gb Dunsters continues to support food poverty charities including frequent weekly donations to organisations such as The Bridge charity in Leigh, charitable giving to Fareshare Greater Manchester and a new relationship with community pantry project, The Ramsbottom Pantry.

Craig Newton, Commercial Manager at Dunsters Farm said;

“Our partnership with Too Good to go has continued since 2020, it is just one of the creative ways we’re looking to reduce our food waste. The app has instantly linked us with thousands of people who are interested in food deals locally, something that otherwise would have taken significant manpower and resources that we simply didn’t have, especially in the context on the pandemic.

“Not only do relationships like this aid our businesses’ recovery but it also helps us tackle our responsibility to food waste head on, and play our part in a wider global issue.”

Paschalis Loucaides, Managing Director at Too Good To Go said:

“Since the pandemic began we have looked for ways to ensure that all food, no matter where it is in the supply chain, is eaten and enjoyed instead of wasted.

The wholesale sector has had a really challenging time; with many hospitality businesses forced to close, hundreds of thousands of pounds of food has been sitting idle. We’re thrilled that we have been able to help.

Working with Dunsters Farm we are ensuring that our app users in the local area can buy its surplus food and prevent it from going to waste, while providing the company with a way to recover otherwise sunk costs.”