Houghton-le-Spring firm Pacifica helps provide 30,000 meals as part of FareShare partnership

A Houghton-le-Spring home services company has helped provide the equivalent of 30,000 meals to people facing food insecurity over the past year, after strengthening its partnership with national food redistribution charity FareShare.

Pacifica, headquartered at the Rainton Bridge Business Park, raised £6,000 through colleague fundraising between April 2024 and March 2025.

left to right: Pacifica’s Jordan Holmes with Cat Spellman, trustee and volunteer at the Washington Community Food Project, one of the foodbanks that has benefited from Pacifica’s support

placeholder image — left to right: Pacifica’s Jordan Holmes with Cat Spellman, trustee and volunteer at the Washington Community Food Project, one of the foodbanks that has benefited from Pacifica’s support

The funding allowed FareShare to divert surplus food from across the UK supply chain and redistribute it to community groups, children’s clubs, refuges, older people’s projects and emergency support services.

Chief executive Kevin Brown said the latest figures “matter because of the difference they represent”, adding that every meal supported “goes directly to people who are struggling”.

According to FareShare’s latest Impact Report, one in seven people in the UK now live in food insecurity, including three million children, with families buying less food despite spending more due to rising costs.

“At a time when families are cutting back and costs continue to rise, standing alongside a charity that tackles both hunger and waste is something that genuinely matters,” Mr Brown said.

Since Pacifica began working with FareShare in 2021, the partnership has helped redistribute the equivalent of around 160,000 meals.

The company has also expanded its own local support by launching an internal foodbank initiative, which sees one member of staff each month donate 200 essential food items to a foodbank of their choice.

Pacifica covers the cost and provides paid time for employees to shop, collect and deliver the donations themselves.

To date, 1,200 items have been delivered directly into communities where staff live and work.

“The generosity of our colleagues sits behind these results,” Mr Brown added.

“Food shouldn’t be wasted, and no one should go hungry.”

FareShare works with more than 8,500 charities and community groups nationwide, including breakfast clubs, shelters, youth organisations and older people’s services.

Pacifica employs hundreds of people in the North East and delivers more than 360,000 home visits nationwide each year as the UK’s leading independent provider of domestic appliance repairs and extended warranties.

Its partners include major brands such as Electrolux, Sony, Hisense, Midea, Vestel and LG.