Torbay children experiencing food poverty received a huge boost when Tesco donated £5,000 to provide specialised meal kits.
The donation was presented to the Feed a Child Torbay charity, whose volunteers work with schools to support children in Torquay, Paignton and Brixham.
Tesco has made a total of £300,000 available to 60 charities and community projects that provide help for young people, including school breakfast clubs, food banks and charities supporting young people to manage mental health.
Funding for Feed a Child Torbay will buy the best-value food for meal kits and breakfast kits for pupils who might otherwise go without during the holidays.
Catherine Fritz, Secretary at Feed a Child Torbay, said: “We are so grateful to Tesco for this donation. It will make a significant difference to the lives of many children across Torbay.
“Children in poverty are less likely to get a good education, and people with poorer educations are more likely to experience poverty.
“People experiencing poverty often suffer mental trauma in trying to find ways of meeting basic needs, and people suffering mental trauma are less likely to obtain good employment and hold down jobs.
“When school is not in session and school meals are not available, families experiencing poverty may struggle to fill that gap, especially when also faced with increased costs for childcare or the need to work fewer hours to look after the children.
“To alleviate this, we operate through schools and rely on school staff to tell us how many families require support. We then provide meal kits to the schools, and they distribute them to the families.”
Tesco’s donation scheme ran in partnership with Heart and Smooth radio stations, with the aim of making a difference to young people across the country.
Claire de Silva, Head of Community at Tesco, said: “We wanted to reward fantastic groups who make such a difference to young people and families in their communities. We’re really proud of this campaign and pleased to be able to support the tireless work of charities such as Feed a Child Torbay.”
Funding for Feed a Child Torbay was part of a campaign that ran in addition to Tesco Community Grants, the in-store scheme where customers vote with blue tokens for community projects and groups, which has been helping local people since 2016.
To find out more about Tesco Community Grants go to www.tescocommunitygrants.org.uk
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