Donation drive: can you spare a couple of hours to help at donation points at Tesco?

With food banks and charities expecting to face increased demand for help this winter, the Croydon public is being asked to give the gift of their time to take part in the country’s biggest food donation drive.

The Tesco Food Collection is taking place in all the supermarket chain’s London stores from November 30 to December 2, and the Trussell Trust and FareShare are urging volunteers to sign up to support the event in-store.

It comes as both charities face their busiest winter yet as more people turn to them for support. The Trussell Trust, which has the largest foodbank network in the country, is expecting to distribute more than 1million emergency food parcels between December and February, while FareShare has more than 1,500 frontline charities on its waiting list seeking food.

During the collection, Tesco customers will be encouraged to donate long-life food to support the charities in their work. Donations for the Trussell Trust will help its network of food banks provide emergency food parcels to people who cannot afford the essentials, while donations to FareShare will get food to its network of charities and community groups.

Tesco is calling on volunteers to staff collection points to raise awareness of the impact every donation will have.

Charity appeal: the Trussell Trust is predicting increase calls for their help this winter

“This winter is going to be the toughest yet for the food banks in our network as they will help approximately 600,000 people and provide an emergency parcel every eight seconds,” said Emma Revie, the Trussell Trust’s chief exec.

“The teams in our food banks are working tirelessly to ensure everyone receives the support they need but they cannot do it alone. By volunteering at the Tesco Winter Food Collection you will not only be helping to gather much-needed donations to keep your local food bank going, you’ll also be making a real difference to families who cannot afford the essentials in your community. If you can spare a few hours to volunteer then please do.”

George Wright, chief executive at FareShare, added: “We anticipate need will keep rising as people continue to struggle to afford the essentials like food and heating this winter. Tesco’s support for FareShare throughout the cost of living crisis, and the last 11 years, has been unwavering, and we’re incredibly grateful for their support in helping drive more donations during what will be a difficult winter for many.

“Volunteers play a huge role in the success of the Tesco Food Collection each year. By giving up just three hours of your time, you can make a huge impact by helping more people understand the importance of donating food to FareShare during this increasingly difficult time.”

You can sign up to volunteer with FareShare at https://fareshare.org.uk/foodcollection/ or with the Trussell Trust at https://www.trusselltrust.org/get-involved/tesco-food-collection/volunteer/

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