UK forklift provider, Windsor Materials Handling, is doing their bit towards food waste and poverty in the North West of England by providing a forklift truck to charity of the year, FareShare.
The award-winning charity helps redistribute food destined for waste. The surplus comes in all shapes and sizes, and often goes to waste for seasonality or cosmetic reasons. Local charities and community groups transform the donations into meals for vulnerable people.
FareShare Merseyside Development Manager, Mark Hall, explains: “The food redistributed is fresh, quality and in-date, but for one reason or another is destined to go to waste. We work with 173 charities on a weekly basis to put it to great use. That said, the organisations we supply food to are places that provide life changing support, as well as lunch and dinner.”
Last year FareShare managed 13,552 tonnes of food in the UK. Collecting deliveries as well as receiving them, space at their centres can get tight, and to help with the logistics, they depend on donations and equipment from local businesses.
After a donation for capital equipment, Windsor stepped in to provide a forklift truck and battery charger at an exceptionally discounted price. The decision to support the organisation was led by Windsor’s St Helens MHE Consultant, Pete Dennett. Said Pete: “We pride ourselves on being local. We have a lot of requests for this type of kit, so it’s often in demand. We both live and work in the North West, so it’s great to be able to give something back.”
FareShare was established in 1994, when homeless charity Crisis co-founded it with Sainsbury’s. Since then, the charity has been working to fight hunger and tackling food waste across the UK, and won Charity of the Year in the 2017 Third Sector Awards.
“We have many great supporters,” adds Mark. “From major supermarkets and manufacturers, such as Unilever and General Mills, to our local MP Frank Field and our many volunteers. We’ve been here 18 months and, nationally, we have a target of one hundred thousand tonnes a year. Food surplus is high on the agenda and we are helping reduce waste that would otherwise go to landfill.”
According to a report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, over 8 million people in the UK, the equivalent of the entire population of London, are struggling to afford to eat.
Windsor operates from 12 local branches across the UK, offering materials handling and access equipment, for sale, hire and maintenance. Established in 1976, the business is now the UK’s leading independent supplier of Komatsu and Doosan forklifts. Windsor also specialises in UniCarriers warehousing, floor cleaning and JLG access machines, and a full range of bespoke lifting equipment from Baumann sideloaders to narrow aisle trucks and Combilifts.
Concludes Pete Dennett: “We were founded on our service capabilities in the 1970s. Since then the Windsor name has been synonymous with materials handling and access systems, providing a first class range of forklift truck and access platform hire, sales and maintenance services. Throughout the years, our business has evolved to support the needs of modern logistics operations. We pride ourselves on having the most highly skilled and well experienced staff in both technical support and sales, but our commitment to being local has stood the test of time.”
