Tom Pom Organic, the frozen baby food brand, has announced plans to raise funds for FareShare, the UK’s biggest charity fighting hunger and food waste, through membership of ‘1% for the Planet’.
Surrey-based Tom Pom Organic was founded by Kari Sharman after she had struggled to find suitable food for her second son, Tommy – known as Tom Pom.
At nine-months-old, Tommy was diagnosed with food allergies, particularly to nuts (including peanuts), and dairy, as well as reactions to potato, chicken, and watermelon. At the time, there were no frozen baby or weaning foods on the market which were healthy, nutritious, allergy friendly, and minimally processed.
Initially Kari made batches of foods for new parents in her community. Then, over the years, she realised that perhaps she could make her passion into a business. The brand officially launched in late 2020.
Kari commented:
“From the outset, sustainability has been important to us. I was brought up to not be wasteful and have carried that into my adult life. Tom Pom Organic brings together our passion for children’s health and sustainability, which we carry through into all aspects of our growing business. Working with FareShare is a perfect match to help us continue this journey.”
Tom Pom Organic is a member of ‘1% for the Planet’, a global movement that inspires businesses and individuals to support environmental solutions. Businesses commit to giving 1% of their gross sales each year to approved non-profit partners through a variety of strategies and donations.
“We are excited to focus our charitable work with FareShare by donating excess product, fund-raising and, once restrictions allow, Andy and I will be hands-on in the warehouse to donate time and gain a greater understanding on how FareShare operates.” stated Kari.
Donation and fundraising helps to keep the FareShare delivery vans running, pays for PPE to keep volunteers safe, and helps to get more food to the frontline organisations which support vulnerable people.
FareShare redistributes surplus food, which would otherwise have gone to waste, to frontline charities and community groups. The figures are staggering: with approximately 8.4 million people in the UK struggling to afford to eat, over two million tonnes of edible food is wasted by the food industry every year. That’s the equivalent of 1.3 billion meals thrown away.
FareShare supports 11,000 charities and provides the equivalent of two million meals a week to those who might not otherwise eat, two-thirds of whom are children and families.
FareShare’s profile was raised last year when Manchester United and England Footballer Marcus Rashford partnered with the company to help raise awareness of child hunger in the UK. He helped their launch, and spearheads the ‘Child Food Poverty Taskforce’: a group of more than 15 organisations of which FareShare is a founding member.