New freezer van for UKHarvest brings much needed support to West Sussex

Hyde provided £20,000 towards UKHarvest’s first freezer van (through Hyde Charitable Trust). The new van means that UKHarvest can pick up frozen foods from supermarkets and other sources, and transport it to frozen hubs where it’s stored safety until it’s needed.

It’s made a huge impact on UKHarvest’s ability to find new food donors, including Pieminister, Iceland in Swindon, Bidfoods and Lidl. Another donor is KFC - UKHarvest can now collect from 22 KFC restaurants, rescuing over 150kg of frozen chicken each week. And, thanks to the freezer van, UKHarvest recently collected 1.5 tonnes of diced vegetables. This was then sent to the Nourish Hub community kitchen, where it can be made into soup and meals, or used in their training kitchen.

Simon Thresher, Operations and Compliance Manager at UKHarvest said: “Thanks to Hyde, we have a van with frozen capability so we can offer more food, at all our initiatives - from our community food hubs to our education programmes. It means we’re able to offer a full range of food groups, so that everyone has the opportunity to access a healthy, balanced diet.

“Not only has the van helped us rescue more food, but it has enabled us to safely collect and redistribute protein as a frozen product – a food category that can be difficult to rescue fresh.”

Felicity Hunt, Hyde’s Communities and Social Impact Director said: “We’re thrilled that we were able to support UKHarvest with their first freezer van. We supported them with £20,000 from Hyde Charitable Trust’s Booster Fund – a fund helping partners with the cost-of-living crisis. The fact that the van will help to rescue more food that would have otherwise gone to landfill, and then delivering to people that need it most, is making a huge difference to our communities.”