KFC has teamed up with nonprofit FareShare to resdistribute four million meals to local communities across the country, with all 1,000 KFC restaurants in the UK to begin redistributing surplus food by the end of the year.
The partnership follows a successful eight-month pilot in 20 KFC restaurants with the aim of reducing food waste and tackling rising food insecurity amidst the cost of living crisis.
Since the beginning of the eight-month trial, the partnership has redistributed the equivalent of more than 27,500 meals to over 22 local communities. It has supported an estimated 1,900 people each week via FareShare Go, which allows customers to collect surplus food from supermarkets and local stores.
Jenny Packwood, chief corporate affairs and sustainability officer at KFC, says: “We’ve seen more and more people in the local communities that we serve being plunged into food insecurity and, as the cost of living crisis intensifies, it is more important than ever that we make sure any surplus food gets to the people who need it most.
“We want to move fast and hard on rolling out our food redistribution programme by the end of the year, and across all of our restaurants, because we cannot sit by while our communities suffer. That’s why we’re thrilled to be working with FareShare to deliver so many meals, which would have otherwise gone to waste, to people facing hunger in our communities across the country.
“By redistributing our surplus fried chicken, we’ll not only be tackling food insecurity, but we’ll also be taking an important step towards our goal of become a fully circular, zero waste business by 2035.”
Lindsay Boswell, chief executive at FareShare, says: “We believe no good food should go to waste which is why we’re so excited to be partnering with KFC.
“This partnership marks the first time we will be offering frozen poultry products to local communities using the FareShare Go app, complimenting the fresh fruit and veg, and bakery items typically received.
“With the current cost of living crisis affecting millions of people already struggling to make ends meet, this food is needed now more than ever and we anticipate that, through this partnership, more than 2,000 charities and community groups will be able to collect from their local KFC restaurant.”
