South Devon Tesco customers can make a huge difference to the lives of people facing hunger and hardship ahead of Christmas by donating long-life items during an annual Winter Food Collection.
Last year, generous customers in South Devon donated food to the collection, which went to Trussell and FareShare. Both charities expect to see increased demand for their services this winter.
FareShare say that more than a third of charities now primarily serve families with children, or services for children, while Trussell predicts that their community of foodbanks will need to give out an emergency food parcel every 10 seconds this winter to meet need.
Tesco larger stores in and around South Devon are making the pre-packed customer donation bags available so that donating the most needed items is as easy as possible for customers.
The bags, which typically cost between £2 and £4, are pre-filled with healthy and nutritious long-life items and can be picked up in store and paid for at the checkout. The donated food is passed to FareShare and Trussell, whose volunteers will distribute it to charities and food banks to help families who need it most.
Tesco’s Winter Food Collection runs in its Express stores from 24–29 November and in large stores from 27–29 November. The most-needed items according to FareShare and Trussell are cereal, oats and instant porridge, tinned and dried soup, and tinned beans.
Ashwin Prasad, Tesco UK CEO, said: “With more families than ever expected to need help with essentials this winter, along with our partners, we are encouraging customers to donate whatever they can to our Winter Food Collection. If we all pull together, we can make a big difference to lives this winter.
“It’s our 13th Winter Food Collection, and the generosity of Tesco customers and their commitment to helping their local community makes me and the entire Tesco team so proud.”
As temperatures drop and bills continue to rise, food banks say they are now bracing themselves for another tough winter as levels of need remain exceptionally high.
Matthew Van Duyvenbode, co-chief executive at Trussell, said: “With a food parcel being given out every 10 seconds this winter, we know far too many people will be facing hunger and hardship during the festive season. Food banks are a lifeline, offering a warm welcome and a listening ear, but they will only be able to operate this winter with the generous support of the public.
“We know times are tough, but a donation can really make a difference. The Tesco Winter Collection is the perfect opportunity to help. The pre-packed donation bags make it easier than ever to support your local food bank and help someone facing hunger today. We are so grateful to Tesco for its continued partnership and to you, our generous supporters, for making someone smile this winter.”
FareShare Chief Executive, Kris Gibbon-Walsh, said: “In the winter months, many people accessing local groups are forced to choose between keeping warm and eating. This makes the Tesco Winter Food Collection more important than ever. We are enormously grateful to all our colleagues at Tesco for their continued support, together we turn surplus and donated food into meals, strengthening communities and supporting those in need.
“The Tesco Winter Food Collection enables us to collect long-life, staple ingredients that complement he fresh surplus food we redistribute. If shoppers can donate just one item at their local store, they’ll be helping to provide a meal for someone facing hardship this winter.”
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