More than 23.5 tonnes of food has been diverted from Northern Ireland’s landfill sites by a charity that redistributes meals to vulnerable people.

FareShare is battling food poverty by collecting surplus food from retailers and manufacturers across Ireland and distributing it to local charities, delivering tens of thousands of meals to vulnerable, hungry people.

Environment Minister Alex Attwood, whose Department helped to fund the scheme, said: "The FareShare project is providing a vital service to communities in our area. If it wasn't for this project a lot of discarded food might be wasted. Through engaging local volunteers FareShare manage to re-distribute this food to local communities that in this current economic climate need it most.

“As well as helping to reduce over 23.5 tonnes of food from landfill, this project is making a real difference to charities across Northern Ireland such as Homestart Antrim, Lighthouse Hostel and Friendship House. I would like to commend FairShare and their volunteers for their dedication to this worthy cause. It is a measure of our times that there is a demand for projects like this. I will be discussing with the scheme how it might develop and how the NI Government may help.”