Rathbone Investment Management’s Bristol office has agreed a 3-year partnership with the food redistribution charity FareShare South West, a local branch of the nationwide food charity.
The partnership with the Rathbones Foundation will support FareShare South West’s various programmes and partnerships, including the development of an Employability Programme, based at their new South Bristol warehouse in Knowle West. The programme aims to provide a stepping stone for disadvantaged people to access long-term employment through the provision of work experience, skills and training.
Established in 2007, FareShare South West is the region’s largest food redistribution charity, which works to fight hunger in the South West through tackling food waste. The charity saves hundreds of tonnes of in-date, good quality surplus food sourced from across the food supply chain and redistribute it to frontline organisations from school breakfast clubs to homeless shelters and women’s refuges. These settings then transform the food into meals for the vulnerable people they support.
The food charity has continued to expand and develop their services in response to the needs of the communities they operate in. Current initiatives include the launch of two new warehouses, with one opening in South Bristol, and another set to better service the Devon and Cornwall region. The charity is also launching FoodStock 2021, which will see a pop-up emergency warehouse operating across what is expected to be a difficult winter. It will deliver an uplift in food support with enough food for 1 million meals expected to reach those in need within just a two-month period, coinciding with the Christmas holidays.
Since the pandemic, the need for FareShare South West’s services has increased dramatically and their response has seen the provision of food for 6.1 million meals for people in need, delivering major emergency food support to the region.
FareShare South West’s mission aligns closely with Rathbones’ principles of community investment, including a focus on supporting equality of opportunity and supporting charities where funding would make a significant difference. The multi-year partnership will help the charity plan income over several years and ensure any donations are maximising impact. Alongside the financial contribution, Rathbones will also be supporting through volunteering at FareShare South West’s food warehouses and be exploring other activities with the charity, including financial skills workshops for trainees and training opportunities for the charity’s trustees.
Sophie Lawrence, foundation lead for Bristol and senior ethical, sustainable and impact researcher at Rathbone Greenbank Investments, and said: “FareShare South West provides a lifeline to many in our community. We are proud to have launched a 3-year commitment to support this local charity and to help them develop their services and meet the evolving needs around food poverty in the South West.”
Phoebe Ruxton, director of fundraising and communications at FareShare South West, comments: “We are continually striving to meet the most pressing needs of our local community. We are delighted to have Rathbones on board as their support will help us to continue with our programmes, operations, and campaigns designed to ease the burden of those experiencing food poverty here in the South West. Their support will also help develop new initiatives that will give disadvantaged people in Bristol the training and skills needed to move into long-term employment.”
