National charity Allchurches Trust has pledged £100,000 to FareShare as part of a quarter of a million pounds funding package supporting four national organisations working to tackle food poverty due to the coronavirus pandemic.

FareShare, the food redistribution charity, has reported a sharp increase in the number of people using its services during the pandemic, which the charity says puts those who normally rely on its services will be at greater risk of food deprivation.

Funding from Allchurches Trust will help FareShare continue to adapt its operations, including switching from providing ingredients for meal preparation to providing food in household-appropriate parcels for collection or distribution. It is also creating new distribution hubs and registering hundreds of new charities and community groups to receive charitable food to help people who need it most.

“Even though we’ve almost doubled the amount of food we’re getting out to charities across the UK, demand remains high, and the number of charities who have applied to get food from FareShare has tripled.”

Lindsay Boswell, FareShare chief executive, said: “FareShare has dramatically increased the amount of food we’re getting to frontline charities delivering food onto the doorsteps of older people, those with serious illnesses and families facing severe financial hardship. Even though we’ve almost doubled the amount of food we’re getting out to charities across the UK, demand remains high, and the number of charities who have applied to get food from FareShare has tripled.

“This generous donation from Allchurches Trust will help us to put more delivery vans on the road, keep our warehouses open for longer, and get vital food supplies out to hundreds more organisations providing a lifeline to those in need in their communities.”

Tim Carroll, chairman of Allchurches Trust, said: “FareShare uses its local connections and in-depth knowledge of charity and community partners to reach those most in need on a national scale, ensuring the widest impact possible. This was a critical factor in our decision to provide funding to the charity, as well as its ability to quickly adapt and scale to the constantly changing situation and its strong connections with other charities tackling food poverty.

“As the lockdown continues, millions of people are going without food or missing meals, making the funding and support of organisations like FareShare even more critical.”