EMERGE 3RS

Responsible for the operation of Fareshare Greater Manchester and Give and Gain, EMERGE 3RS is a charity with both an environmental and social purpose at its core. Together with our sister social enterprise, EMERGE Recycling, a registered Community Benefit Society, who also run Touch Wood, we make up the EMERGE Group. We seek to address the issues of marginalisation by those facing poverty and disadvantage. Through our work we support 30k people each week with food and help many with employment and training and significantly reduce many types of waste - food, wood, paper, across the region, helping to reduce carbon emissions. The food we redistribute is donated by the food industry and supports food banks, food pantries, schools, homeless hostels, and community run initiatives. Most of our work is done by volunteers, some of whom are on a formal training programme, Give and Gain to help them gain skills and experience to return to work. Last year these volunteers gave 21,520 hours of work which redistributed 2,135 tonnes of food. We also recycled 1,021 tonnes of waste and rescued 433 tonnes of wood. For every tonne of food that is redistributed 1.6 tonnes of embedded carbon emissions are saved as well as 1.5 million litres of water. With the cost of living crisis, demand for our food has risen by 37%. Lower income households, and the unemployed, already most severely affected by the pandemic, are most effected.