What FareShare does

FareShare is a UK-registered non-profit charity, founded in 2004 and headquartered in London, that operates the country's longest-running food redistribution programme. The organisation acts as an intermediary between food businesses holding surplus edible stock — primarily major supermarkets, manufacturers, and catering operators — and a national network of charities and community organisations that distribute food to people facing food insecurity. Services are provided to recipient charities free of charge, so the operating model is funded through corporate donations, grants, and fundraising rather than fees. FareShare is led by Chief Executive Lindsay Boswell and operates with a staff of 101–250 across UK-wide redistribution infrastructure.

The organisation's core capability is logistical: collecting, sorting, and delivering perishable surplus food at scale under food-safety constraints. Its distribution model relies on partnerships with major retailers and logistics providers rather than owned transport fleets — most prominently through the Alliance Food Sourcing (AFS) consortium with Sainsbury's, Tesco, logistics operator GXO, and consultancy Baringa, launched in April 2025, which uses spare capacity in supermarket delivery vehicles to move surplus stock to FareShare and partner The Felix Project. Complementary partnerships with Compass Group, Olio, and Too Good to Go extend supply sources into contract catering and consumer-facing food-rescue channels.

FareShare's underlying technology base is not publicly disclosed, and there is no proprietary software product in the data; however, the organisation is participating in a US$2.5m grant-funded consortium AI pilot aimed at optimising surplus food redistribution logistics. From a revenue-mechanics perspective, as a non-profit FareShare generates no commercial sales; its 'revenue' equivalent is total charitable income from corporate donors, individual giving, and grants, which is not disclosed in the available data. Recent litigation (the dismissed Navaian v FareShare £6m claim over the Coronation Food Project) is the only material legal event and did not result in a substantive liability ruling against the charity.

Name

FareShare

Legal name

FareShare

Website

https://fareshare.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

FareShare is the UK's longest-running food redistribution charity, founded in 2004 and based in London. It collects surplus food from major retailers, manufacturers, and caterers and redistributes it free of charge to charities and community groups serving people facing food insecurity.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Food Redistribution Services

NAICS

General Warehousing and Storage (49311), Refrigerated Warehousing and Storage (493120), Warehousing and Storage (4931)

SIC

Wholesale-Groceries, General Line (5141), Public Warehousing & Storage (4220)

akta.pro primary industry

Cash-and-Carry / Foodservice Warehouse Clubs (Broadline) (AFAIAAAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Food & Beverage Frozen Storage (Meat, Seafood, Dairy, Produce, Bakery) (TLALACAA), Cold Chain Fulfillment & Pick-Pack (E-grocery/D2C) (TLALABAL)

Keywords

• Food redistribution services
• Surplus food rescue
• Charity logistics operations
• Food waste reduction
• Community food support

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

FareShare is a UK charity that collects edible surplus food from retailers, manufacturers, producers, and caterers, sorts and stores it at regional warehouses, and redistributes it free of charge to charities and community groups that provide meals and food parcels to people facing food insecurity. Its operations are funded through grants, donations, and corporate partnerships, and it supports thousands of community organisations across all four UK nations.

Product overview

No product or service information for FareShare is available in the provided source data. The source material consists of news articles mentioning FareShare's charitable operations (food redistribution to combat food poverty) and a webpage about The Felix Project (a separate food redistribution charity).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Surplus Food Redistribution Service

Quantifiable outcome

• Sainsbury's trial alone saves charities over £150,000 in transport costs

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability1 record

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Compass GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 September 2025Compass Group, the world's largest catering company, partners with FareShare to redistribute surplus food as part of their sustainability commitments, including their goal to make 40% of UK and Ireland menus plant-based by 2030.
• OliominorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 September 2025FareShare partners with Olio, another food redistribution platform, to maximize surplus food rescue efforts and reduce food waste across the UK.
• Too Good to GominorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 September 2025FareShare partners with Too Good to Go, a food waste reduction app, to redistribute surplus food and address food insecurity through complementary redistribution channels.
• Sainsbury'scoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 April 2025Sainsbury's is part of the Alliance Food Sourcing (AFS) collaboration trial to deliver surplus food to FareShare using spare capacity in delivery vehicles. The trial alone is estimated to save charities over £150,000 in transport costs.
• TescocoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 April 2025Tesco participates in the Alliance Food Sourcing (AFS) collaboration with FareShare to redistribute surplus food to charities using logistics infrastructure.
• GXOcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 April 2025Logistics firm GXO provides the delivery infrastructure for the Alliance Food Sourcing collaboration trial, enabling efficient transportation of surplus food from supermarkets to FareShare redistribution points.
• BaringaminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 April 2025Consultancy firm Baringa partners in the Alliance Food Sourcing (AFS) collaboration to advise on the supermarket surplus food redistribution trial.
• The Felix ProjectcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 2 April 2025Both FareShare and The Felix Project receive surplus food through the Alliance Food Sourcing collaboration, working together as complementary food redistribution charities in the UK.
• King Charles III Charitable TrustminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2024FareShare was named as a defendant in a £6m court case related to a failed fundraiser for the Coronation Food Project. The judge threw out the claims against FareShare, though the plaintiff may proceed with a small £25,000 expense claim.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• The Felix Project: The Felix Project is a London-based food redistribution charity that receives surplus food through the same AFS collaboration as FareShare. Both charities serve UK communities with surplus food rescue, operate comparable volunteer-driven redistribution models, and target the same beneficiary charity ecosystem.
• FoodCloud: FoodCloud is an Ireland/UK-based technology-enabled food redistribution platform connecting retailers with charities to redistribute surplus food. It competes directly with FareShare in the UK and Ireland for retail surplus supply and charity beneficiary relationships.
• City Harvest: City Harvest is a London-based food redistribution charity that rescues surplus food and delivers it to charities and community groups. It operates a similar volunteer-supported redistribution model to FareShare within overlapping London geographies.
• Olio: Olio is a UK food-sharing app that connects neighbours and businesses to share surplus food, and is an active partner of FareShare. It operates in the same food-waste/redistribution space with overlapping retail partnerships and end-user beneficiaries.
• Too Good To Go: Too Good To Go is a European food-waste reduction app that partners with retailers to sell surplus food to consumers, and has a partnership with FareShare. It addresses the same food-surplus pool from a consumer-direct angle, creating both partnership and partial channel competition.
• FoodCycle: FoodCycle is a UK charity that combines surplus food with volunteer cooks to serve community meals, sitting downstream of FareShare's redistribution chain. It relies on similar surplus-food supply streams and shares the same charity beneficiary and volunteer engagement model.

Regional players

• Second Harvest: Second Harvest is Canada's largest food rescue charity, operating a comparable model of redistributing surplus food from businesses to non-profits. It mirrors FareShare's structure but operates in a different geographic market, making it a useful operational benchmark.

Broad incumbents

• Compass Group: Compass Group is the world's largest catering and support services company and a core partner of FareShare for surplus food redistribution. While not a charity, it operates at scale across food service and has substantial food-surplus supply that flows into FareShare's redistribution network.

Others

• Sainsbury's: Sainsbury's is one of the UK's largest supermarkets and a core AFS-collaboration partner that supplies surplus food to FareShare. It is a key supplier rather than a competitor, but its corporate food-waste and Scope 3 strategy directly drives FareShare's supply volumes.
• Tesco: Tesco is one of the UK's largest supermarkets and a core AFS-collaboration partner that supplies surplus food to FareShare through GXO logistics. As a primary supplier, Tesco's surplus-food policy decisions directly shape FareShare's redistribution capacity.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about FareShare