Who is he?
In 13 years, Lindsay Boswell has propelled the food charity FareShare from a busy but unknown support service to an essential network of 34 regional centres, food hubs and food exchanges.
In 2010 FareShare was receiving only a tiny fraction of available surplus food, while the need was growing rapidly. Since then, Boswell has won over much of the food industry and helped 750 food partners identify cost-effective ways of getting surplus to FareShare.
Programmes such as the FareShare Go partnership with Tesco links supermarket end-of-day surplus with thousands of local charities. This model has subsequently been rolled out to Asda, Waitrose, Booker, Nando’s and KFC.
What has he achieved?
When he joined the charity Boswell wanted to make FareShare a household name, bring in more funding to get more food, and help to feed as many people as needed. Under his stewardship, FareShare has gone from working with 600 charities to 8,500, and the number of meals a year it provides has jumped from 36 million to 128 million.
He has spoken out about the need to tackle food waste and devised practical solutions to do so, enlisting the help of celebrities such as footballer Marcus Rashford and taking the issue to Westminster with FareShare’s ‘Feed People First’ campaign.
Boswell recently retired but his legacy at FareShare will live on, with the charity in a significantly more effective, well-known and financially sustainable position than when he joined in 2010.
What did the judges say?
“A clear example of quantifiable impact and reach. Beneficiary impact and driving collaboration. Led significant growth over the tenure too.”
Finalists
SallyAnn Kelly OBE, Aberlour Children’s Charity
Hanuman Dass, Go Dharmic
Louise Parkes, Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity (GOSH Charity)
Sophie Andrews OBE, Noah’s Ark Children’s Hospice
Enver Solomon, Refugee Council
Kris Healey, Spadework
Daniel Parker, Veg Power