King Charles III will feature on the cover of the Big Issue magazine next week to mark his 75th birthday and highlight his Coronation Food Project, which aims to tackle food waste and food insecurity. The project, officially launching on 14 November, seeks to bridge the gap between surplus food and those in need.
In an interview with the Big Issue, the King emphasised the dual problem of food need and food waste, stating, 'Food need is as real and urgent a problem as food waste.' He expressed hope that the project would find practical ways to rescue surplus food and distribute it to those who need it most.
The project reports that 14 million people in the UK face food insecurity, with the Trussell Trust noting a 16% increase in emergency food parcels between April and September 2023 compared to the previous year. Meanwhile, millions of tonnes of food are discarded annually.
The Coronation Food Project aims to bring together supermarkets, farmers, and distributors to save more surplus food. It plans to establish regional distribution hubs to improve the network of 8,500 local charities already sharing surplus food.
Baroness Louise Casey, co-chair of the project, said, 'Too many people in the UK are living in poverty and going hungry. At the same time, we are wasting too much food on farms, in manufacturing and across the food industry.'
The King's birthday celebrations will include a party at Highgrove with others turning 75, and a reception for nurses and midwives as part of the NHS 75th anniversary. The Royal Mint has also produced a commemorative coin using recycled silver from medical and industrial X-ray film.
