New Tesco Express store opens its doors to the Bickington community

Surplus food for charities and funding for community groups are available in and around Bickington thanks to the opening of a new store.

The Tesco Express store on Bickington Road has opened its doors to locals, with a ribbon-cutting and the promise of being at the centre of community life.

It has 12 people working there, with facilities such as an in-post locker inside the store, bakery, ATM, Costa and a car park. The store is open from 7am-10pm every day of the week.

Alison Shapland, manager at the Bickington Express store, brings a wealth of experience to the role, having been with Tesco for 14 years.

She said: “My team and I are looking forward for being a part of the great community of Bickington and its surrounding areas, and we’re keen to meeting everyone and help to make their shopping experience a great one.

“I am very excited about being the new manager of this store. It’s a job I love. Every day is different and full of variety, and the customers play a big part in that for me.”

Schools and community groups are invited to apply for community funding through Tesco Stronger Starts, the retailer’s blue token voting scheme, which sees three local projects voted on by customers in store every three months, with first place awarded up to £1,500, second place up to £1,000 and third place up to £500.

Organisations can apply for a Stronger Starts grant by going online at https://tescostrongerstarts.org.uk/

The new store also participates in Tesco’s Community Food Connection scheme, which redistributes surplus food to local charities and community groups at the end of each day.

Since its launch in 2016, the Tesco Community Food Connection scheme has donated more than 145 million meals to charities across the UK. The programme is run in partnership with food redistribution charity FareShare. Each month more than one million meals’ worth of food are donated.