Latest news with #Fareshare
Yahoo
05-07-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Charity warns of unprecedented food demand
A food redistribution charity says it is struggling to cope with demand for those who need help across Cumbria. Fareshare supplies millions of meals for communities across the country which are given out for free or at a reduced cost. Three hundred tonnes (300,000kg) of surplus food was delivered across Cumbria last year, the charity says. Naomi Winter, a Fareshare coordinator, said help was needed to get more vans on the road to meet demand in the region. She said the need for free and heavily discounted food since the Covid-19 pandemic had been "unprecedented." "For Carlisle in particular, two vans come on a Wednesday because there's such a need here," she said. "We would like to be able to put six more deliveries to the Carlisle area because we do have a few requests for that, but we don't have any space in our vans to achieve that at the moment." Fareshare redistributes to charities and community groups food that would otherwise go to waste. For Leanne Hackett, who has a five-year-old daughter, it makes a difference. "I'm a single mum and I live on my own, it's just me and my daughter so it really does help," she said. "You have just got to budget, I am quite good at budgeting anyway but you just cut back on things and get on with it." Diane Snedker is also a regular user and the food helps her offset the rising cost of living. She said: "I come because it helps out, I know things are getting harder. "I live on my own but sometimes I have the grandkids so I have to feed them as well." The charity is appealing for help from local charities and businesses so they can get three vans on the road to reach more people who need them in Carlisle and Cumbria. Ms Winter said: "We need more charities to come on and we also need more food from the Cumbria area because we've had to reduce the amount of food that we give to each charity because supply isn't meeting demand anymore." Follow BBC Cumbria on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram. Charity chosen to save food from being wasted Food hubs expand to help feed struggling families Project to donate household goods to families Fareshare
BBC News
05-07-2025
- General
- BBC News
'Food demand in Cumbria is unprecedented'
A food redistribution charity says it is struggling to cope with demand for those who need help across Cumbria. Fareshare supplies millions of meals for communities across the country which are given out for free or at a reduced hundred tonnes (300,000kg) of surplus food was delivered across Cumbria last year, the charity Winter, a Fareshare coordinator, said help was needed to get more vans on the road to meet demand in the region. She said the need for free and heavily discounted food since the Covid-19 pandemic had been "unprecedented.""For Carlisle in particular, two vans come on a Wednesday because there's such a need here," she said."We would like to be able to put six more deliveries to the Carlisle area because we do have a few requests for that, but we don't have any space in our vans to achieve that at the moment." Fareshare redistributes to charities and community groups food that would otherwise go to waste. For Leanne Hackett, who has a five-year-old daughter, it makes a difference."I'm a single mum and I live on my own, it's just me and my daughter so it really does help," she said."You have just got to budget, I am quite good at budgeting anyway but you just cut back on things and get on with it." Diane Snedker is also a regular user and the food helps her offset the rising cost of said: "I come because it helps out, I know things are getting harder. "I live on my own but sometimes I have the grandkids so I have to feed them as well."The charity is appealing for help from local charities and businesses so they can get three vans on the road to reach more people who need them in Carlisle and Cumbria. Ms Winter said: "We need more charities to come on and we also need more food from the Cumbria area because we've had to reduce the amount of food that we give to each charity because supply isn't meeting demand anymore." Follow BBC Cumbria on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
NZ Herald
16-06-2025
- Business
- NZ Herald
Fareshare Cuts Costs and Emissions
This article was prepared by Auckland Transport and is being published by the New Zealand Herald as advertorial. Auckland businesses are turning to a new public transport initiative to cut costs, reduce emissions, and attract talent – without the tax sting. Fareshare, a programme from Auckland Transport, allows employers to subsidise staff travel on buses, trains and ferries. The scheme is exempt from fringe benefit tax (FBT), making it a rare win-win for employers and employees alike. John Fillmore Contracting Limited was one of the earliest businesses to sign up to Fareshare. Executive general manager Sam Lockie said Fareshare is helping the company to reduce emissions. 'Providing public transport options for our teams, especially those travelling into our CBD projects means we're playing our part in reducing carbon emissions,' Lockie said. 'We know that every journey helps in the reduction of carbon emissions and traffic congestion, so we're excited about Fareshare and being able to incentivise public transport for our teams.' Not only does Fareshare make commuting more affordable for staff, but it also demonstrates a company's commitment to sustainability, helps to reduce Scope 3 emissions and can sometimes save thousands of dollars on car parking costs. Scope 3 emissions – those generated indirectly through activities like staff travel – are increasingly under scrutiny in climate disclosures and sustainability frameworks. Fareshare provides a practical way for businesses to reduce and report on these emissions. Commercial property firm Samson Corporation also offers Fareshare for its staff. Sustainability manager Bridget Pyc said Fareshare helps to reduce emissions while giving staff an alternative to battling traffic. 'After completing our annual carbon emissions reporting, I was looking into what we could do to reduce the emissions associated with staff commuting,' Pyc said. 'With Samson supporting staff via Fareshare discount, we've seen the team jump on board and received really positive feedback. 'We've heard from staff that it's taking the frustration out of getting stuck in traffic on the way home. 'I get home faster and I'm saving money'!' Employers can choose to subsidise 25%, 50%, or 75% of their employees' public transport fares. The discount is applied directly to AT HOP cards and can cover weekdays or the full week. The system is easy to set up and manage, and is available to businesses of all sizes. On average, employees with Fareshare increase their public transport use by 30%, doing their part to reduce both congestion and carbon emissions. Auckland Transport says Fareshare has been embraced by a range of businesses across multiple industries, from small start-ups to organisations with 500 plus employees in sectors like energy. Businesses have the choice to start small, with a 25% subsidy, and then easily scale this up as they see the benefits in staff public transport uptake, savings and sustainability outcomes. On average, employees using Fareshare increase their public transport use by 30%. This shift not only reduces congestion and emissions but also supports Auckland's broader climate goals.
Scoop
03-06-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Andrew Little And Regional Council Candidates To Deliver Cheaper Public Transport
Cap on bus and train fares to lower household costs and increase uptake Commitment to advocate for change in Government policy to make public transport more affordable Wellington Mayoral candidate Andrew Little and Labour's Greater Wellington Regional Council (GWRC) candidates Daran Ponter and Tom James have today released a joint policy to reduce the cost of public transport. Under the weekly fare cap, public transport users will pay for a maximum of eight trips per week, with any additional trips free. This means if someone commutes to work four days over the course of a week, the fifth day and any weekend trips will be free. Andrew Little said: 'For many Wellingtonians, transport is a significant cost. A weekly cap on bus and train fares will help to lower the cost of living, reduce congestion and increase public transport usage and reliability. 'This is a commonsense, affordable policy where if someone takes eight trips in a week, the rest are free. This fare cap will make a small but material difference to people's back pockets, with a regular commuter from Strathmore into the city saving over $400 a year. 'Central government also has a significant role to play in making public transport affordable and reliable. If elected, I will work alongside the regional council to advocate for the government to ease up on its requirement for increased private charges on public transport.' Daran Ponter said: 'As Chair of GWRC, I have worked hard to continue to grow ridership to reduce congestion and lower our city's emissions. This policy will mean an additional 300,000 trips on our buses and trains, helping to unlock our city. 'I have a proven track record of working with central government and my fellow councillors to deliver more buses to more places and securing funding for better rail services. I look forward to working with Andrew as Mayor to deliver this cost of living relief in the next term of local government.' First-time GWRC candidate Tom James said: 'I'm standing for regional council because I want to get more people on buses and trains, lower costs for families, and reduce emissions. A fare cap does all three and is affordable for ratepayers.' The policy also includes a commitment to investigate other measures to improve affordability. These include encouraging workplace subsidies for staff to travel by public transport, modelled on Auckland Transport's successful Fareshare scheme, as well as looking into targeted off-peak fares (for example on Mondays or Fridays) as has been done in Sydney to encourage travel at times when public transport is underutilised.
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
BBC Young Reporter looks into scale of food waste
The BBC Yorkshire Young Reporter is Isabella, a sixth form student from Sheffield. She has been researching the issue of food poverty and recently visited a charity in Barnsley, which is trying to cut the amount of decent food being thrown away in our region. The scale of food waste is absolutely staggering. The United Nations estimate that 10 million tonnes of food is wasted in the UK each year, while many others struggle with food insecurity. Food waste is a massive issue that affects everybody and, as a Venezuelan, I've seen what food poverty can do to communities. Learning about the organisations that are working to help tackle this issue, I was filled with hope and wanted to find out more. I visited FareShare, a charity in Barnsley that receives 2,000 tonnes of surplus food donations from manufacturers and supermarkets each year. They redistribute food that would otherwise go to landfill. There are many reasons why perfectly good food like this may end up in the bin. BBC Young Reporter: Find out more about the scheme Fareshare's deputy chief executive, Jonathan Williams, says "human error" is sometimes to blame, though mistakes in packaging and labelling are also a factor. "In a lot of cases it can be they (manufacturers) have estimated what the customer demand will be and they've got it wrong. "Even though the food industry is a very competitive industry, there is a great deal of waste within it," he adds. Despite its hard work, Fareshare says its efforts to limit food waste are "only the tip of the iceberg". The charity sends the food donations to projects like FoodCycle. It has nine community meal projects in Yorkshire and provides a free, three-course lunch at the Broomhall Centre in Sheffield every Wednesday. FoodCycle depends on its volunteers, who turn the donations of food into a delicious lunch. I was able to enjoy curried vegetable soup, mushroom stroganoff and apple crumble. Sophie Aoun is FoodCycle's regional manager for Yorkshire and helps to co-ordinate the weekly meals. She says: "It is bonkers frankly that in the sixth richest country in the world you have so much surplus food that is a biproduct of a badly designed food system. Yet there's also still this food poverty." Sophie works alongside Saffron Knight, who has been volunteering at FoodCycle for three months and is a part of the team cooking when I visit. Saffron says the volunteering is the "highlight" of her week. She says: "I was a nutrition student and really passionate about food waste and food poverty and trying to bring fruit and veg to people who might not have access to it. "After I leave, I'm tired but in a good way and I just feel really inspired." Those who visit FoodCycle for a good square meal are positive about it too. Bryan Johnson, who has been coming for two years, says the project is "a win-win for everybody". Samantha Earnshaw, meanwhile, gives the meal "11 out of 10" but adds that she visits for "the company and the friends". Seeing projects like FoodCycle, which bring the community together while helping to tackle food waste, was inspirational. There is clearly a long way to go, but charities here in Yorkshire are working hard to help. Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North or tell us a story you think we should be covering here. Food waste charity opens Surrey warehouse Charities to get £15m to save surplus farm food
