Research reveals that the UK food and drink manufacturing sector could help provide more than one billion meals a year to people facing food insecurity – by reducing waste, recovering surplus, and reinvesting cost savings, benefitting both businesses and communities.

The Waste Equation, developed by Newton, the strategic delivery consultancy, in partnership with The Felix Project and FareShare – the UK’s largest food redistribution charity – sets out a practical, data-driven blueprint for how manufacturers can create a “win-win” for all. The report shows that even relatively small improvements across the industry could have a transformative impact.

Each year, UK retailers sell 18.5 million tonnes of UK-manufactured food and drink. Yet in the process of producing that food, around 550,000 tonnes – equivalent to 3% of sales – is wasted. The report finds that:

• 23% of that waste (128,000 tonnes) could be prevented, saving manufacturers an estimated £326 million
• 16% of surplus that cannot be cost-effectively prevented (89,000 tonnes) could be recovered for redistribution by frontline charities – the equivalent of 212 million meals
• Reinvesting the £326 million in savings at the lowest marginal manufacturing cost could generate a further 657 million meals

Combined with the 148 million meals currently redistributed each year by The Felix Project and FareShare, this creates the potential to provide over 1 billion meals (1,017 million) annually to people who need them.

The Waste Equation highlights a simple, three-step approach for manufacturers to achieve this impact – reduce, recover, reinvest – aligned with UK government, WRAP and The Coronation Food Project recommendations. By tackling avoidable waste through operational improvements and technology, recovering surplus that would otherwise be discarded, and reinvesting the savings to produce additional meals, businesses can make a tangible difference to communities facing food insecurity.

To help pinpoint where the most food is lost, the report’s Manufacturing Waste Map identifies six key moments in production – preparation, operations, quality control, giveaways, changeovers and planning. The report shows that by targeting all six areas with practical, evidence-backed interventions, businesses could dramatically reduce waste, improve operational efficiency, and unlock hundreds of millions of additional meals for those facing food insecurity.

Tim Murray, Partner at Newton comments: “This report shows that no single organisation can solve the waste problem on its own. Traditionally, retail has been the biggest supplier of edible surplus to charities, but as supply chains become more efficient, that surplus is declining – even as demand for food support continues to rise.

“By collaborating across the wider supply chain – sharing expertise, logistics, storage, and production capacity – we can unlock far more surplus food for those who need it. Even delivering a small portion of what’s outlined in this report would mean millions more people are gaining access to affordable, nutritious food – while at the same time, also improving business efficiency across the industry. The industry already does a great deal to help people facing food insecurity. The question now is, how do we go even further?”

Charlotte Hill, CEO at The Felix Project and FareShare comments: “Working collaboratively with food manufacturers to reduce waste, recover surplus and reinvest savings to create more meals not only makes commercial sense it is the right thing to do.

Across the UK, The Felix Project and FareShare supply over 8,000 organisations who are supporting people experiencing food insecurity, strengthening communities and improving lives. If we can access more of this potential food, we can make sure more of it is able to have this transformative impact, rather than going to waste.

“That’s why we’re calling on the UK Government to step up, making it easier and more cost-effective for businesses to donate surplus food, instead of it going to lower-value users. This, however, can’t be done by one sector alone – if everyone begins to play their part, we really can make a step change in 2026.”

Find the link to the full report HERE,