SPAR partners with FareShare for Giving One Million Meals project
SPAR is partnering with the food redistribution charity FareShare to provide the equivalent of one million meals through local charities across the UK, as part of the ‘Giving One Million Meals’ SPAR project.
The campaign started on 21 September and will run in SPAR stores around the UK until 1 November 2023.
According to FareShare, seven million people in the UK are struggling to afford to eat. This represents one in 10 of the UK population.
Suzanne Dover, SPAR UK brand & marketing director, said: “Our partnership with FareShare will see £250,000 donated, and for every £1 given, FareShare can redistribute enough food for the equivalent of four meals to people in need across the UK.
“We believe in supporting the communities we serve, and this partnership means that people won’t have to go without the staples we all use each day.”
Britvic and Coca-Cola are part of SPAR’s first One Million Meals campaign, which will be supported with PoS in-store to highlight SPAR own-label products as well as Robinsons squash and Coke Zero.
There will also be content on digital channels, with blog posts and TikTok content creators to bring the campaign to life.
A study of 2,000 adults was commissioned by SPAR to coincide with the launch of the Giving One Million Meals project with FareShare. It has discovered how food essentials have changed over time, as well as attitudes towards food waste and helping others who may be experiencing food insecurity.
The new research has revealed that British cupboards are now home to food staples few would have even heard of in 1980 – like couscous, harissa and coconut milk.
Dover said: “We understand how important it is to have the cupboard essentials you need to hand and it’s really interesting to see how our essentials have changed over the years and which are still our firm favourites.”
One in three homes now have a bottle of soy sauce available at all times, while 25 % consider balsamic vinegar an essential ingredient. A tenth of kitchens have rice crackers stocked but corned beef, condensed milk and SPAM are things people would find in their parents’ or grandparents’ cupboards only. Baked beans, biscuits and tinned soup are goods that have stood the test of time for over 40 years.
Other foodstuffs most Brits would only expect to find in an older person’s larder include tinned peaches (27%), tinned sardines (21%) and Bovril (21%). But items that remain store cupboard staples include chopped tomatoes (50%), tinned tuna (45%) and lentils (22%).
Almost a fifth (18%) believe there are 5-10 items at the back of their cupboards which are long past their use by date. And 61% even think they’ve got spices, tins or bags with foodstuffs that are up to four years old.
Exactly one in 10 people say they can’t remember the last time they had a proper sort-out of their kitchen cupboards, as 52% admit they worry about throwing away and wasting staple foodstuffs.
Just over eight in 10 (83%) are likely to save cooked food and use them as leftovers, rather than throw them away. Of these, 79% hate to see food wasted, and 51% fret about how much more expensive food is now.
To bulk out their meals and make them go further, 48% are adding more vegetables, and 32% will include old leftovers in a new meal. Just under a fifth (19%) will experiment with the items in their cupboards to enhance a meal they’re making and reduce waste.
When it comes to helping others, half of us (49%) have donated to food banks and charities – with 19% donating more to food bank in recent years to help with the cost-of-living crisis.
Brits’ kitchen cupboard staples:
- Pasta
- Baked beans
- Rice
- Chopped tomatoes
- Olive oil
- Gravy
- Biscuits
- Tinned tuna
- Jams and marmalades
- Tinned soup
- Porridge oats
- Tomato puree
- Pasta sauces
- Soy sauce
- Honey
- Chocolate bars
- Tinned sweetcorn
- Kidney beans
- Chickpeas
- Balsamic Vinegar
