The collection and redistribution of edible food by the UK’s largest charity tackling hunger – and that would otherwise go to waste – saves the UK economy some £51m every year, according to an independent report published on Monday.

If FareShare and other charities in the sector were able to scale up their capacity in order to handle half of the surplus food available in the UK supply chain, the value back to the state could be as much as £500m per year, it claims.

The Wasted Opportunity Report, carried out for FareShare by NEF Consulting, evaluates the economic and social value of redistributed surplus food, as well as the current and potential cost avoided by the UK public sector as a result of the charity’s work.

FareShare is UK’s largest charity fighting food waste and hunger. It redistributes good quality surplus food from the UK supply chain and delivers it to nearly 10,000 charities and community groups, including homeless hostels, children’s breakfast clubs, domestic violence refuges and community cafes.

By collecting food that would otherwise go to waste and redistributing it, FareShare creates approximately £50.9m of socio-economic impact each year, the report reveals. That equates to £6.9m in social value to direct beneficiaries and £44m in savings to the state (the NHS, the criminal justice system, schools and social care).

“We have always known food is a catalyst for good and now we are able to evidence it,” said FareShare chief executive Lindsay Boswell. “A balanced, nutritious diet provides obvious health benefits, but sharing a meal also helps alleviate loneliness. The costs avoided by the state by charities serving up nutritious meals with FareShare food is worth a staggering £51m every year, and that’s with us accessing just 5% of the surplus food available. Imagine what we could do if we could get more of it.”

Demand for surplus, in-date food in the UK has soared against a background of growing dependence on food banks and rising homelessness. The charity is also launching a new campaign, Good Food Does Good, to encourage more businesses to make their surplus food available.

In FareShare’s annual report, the charity said that in 2017-2018 it redistributed 17,000 tonnes of in-date, good to eat surplus food, enough to create almost 37m meals. That is worth £30m per year in cash savings to the charitable sector, and means charities can spend more delivering their frontline services. It follows the recent announcement by environment secretary Michael Gove of a £15m pilot project to make it as cost-effective for the food industry to redistribute their surplus to charities as it is for them to dispose of it as waste.

A roadmap published in September by the government’s waste reduction body, Wrap, and the food and grocery charity IGD sets a series of milestones for businesses to reduce waste at every stage of the supply chain.