£380m-turnover Liverpool city region bakery giant Baker & Baker agrees deal with charity FareShare to donate tonnes of products to people across the UK. Tony McDonough reports
Wirral food manufacturer Baker & Baker has agreed a deal with leading UK food redistribution charity FareShare to donate products and ingredients from its four sites.
Based at Bromborough, Baker & Baker is one of Europe’s leading suppliers of Bakery products. It produces donuts, muffins, brownies, cookies, cakes, specialty breads and viennoiserie categories.
Until April 2021 it was a division of US-based CSM Ingredients but now operates as an independent business. In its first full year of independence it saw sales of £380m.
Around 550 people are employed at the Bromborough site in Stadium Road. In total it employs 1,350 across the UK. Its other three locations are Daventry, Ashington and Bradford.
This latest agreement with FareShare will see it redistribute products and ingredients that otherwise would go to food waste.
FareShare operates a national network of charitable food redistributors via its regional centres. It supports more than 9,500 charities throughout the UK. In 2022, FareShare redistributed food equivalent to 126m meals.
Reducing food wastage will also have a positive impact on Baker & Baker’s carbon footprint and as a component of the business’s strategy to move towards net zero. More details on Baker & Baker’s net zero strategy will be published later in the year.
This deal with FareShare follows a successful trial of bakery products that Baker & Baker donated in 2022 from its Bradford site. That saw more than four tonnes of products supporting almost 550 UK charities.
Baker & Baker is also exploring potential partners to support food redistribution efforts at its continental European sites.
John Lindsay, Baker & Baker chief executive, said: “Food waste can sometimes be unavoidable, including surplus stock that remains perfectly safe to eat.
“In these instances, the responsible course of action is to ensure organisations such as FareShare can redistribute products to those most in need.
“FareShare and its network undertake some fantastic initiatives in communities throughout the country, and as such, we believe they are the perfect partner for Baker & Baker.”
In March LBN revealed that Baker & Baker was seeking applications from jobseekers to fill 30 new roles at its Wirral factory.
Lucy Allison, head of food industry at FareShare, added: “The cost of living crisis has had a disproportionate impact on people struggling to make ends meet.
“So we are so appreciative to work with companies like Baker & Baker that share our vision that no good food should go to waste. We look forward to seeing this partnership flourish.”.