A top Cornish farm has been praised for donating 396 tonnes of surplus produce to the FareShare charity ‘Surplus with Purpose’ scheme, resulting in enough produce for just under a million meals. 

Southern England Farms (SEF), based in Hayle, West Cornwall, began donating its surplus vegetables to FareShare in 2019. 

Now, co-owner Jane Richards, along with her 400 plus pickers, works with the charity to ensure any excess vegetables never go to waste. 

Her farms, made up of over 6,500 acres, are a key supplier to several major retailers in the UK, including a number of supermarkets, of Cornish-grown courgettes, cauliflower, broccoli, spring greens, sweetheart and savoy cabbage. 

Jane now sees her partnership with FareShare as a passion project and urges other food producers to come on board too. 

Ms Richards said: “No farmer ever wants to see their produce go to waste. But sometimes circumstances mean there is a surplus that will often go into the waste trailer or simply become compost. 

“The scheme with FareShare is a brilliant way of ensuring excess produce is redistributed to those who really need it. 

“It is so very rewarding when we find out how many meals our surplus veg has gone on to make.

 “It is great that NFU Mutual has embraced the scheme so whole heartedly and supports their customers who wish to participate with ‘Surplus with Purpose’ too.”