Through the generosity of customers and their penchant for purchasing fresh fruits and vegetables, Tesco was able to help FareShare provide more than three millions meals to children’s charities in its Buy One to Help a Child campaign.
Just during the past three weeks, the supermarket chain has made thousands of equivalent meal donations for each piece of fresh produce bought that FareShare has redistribute into communities.
“Thank you to every single Tesco customer that made a purchase during this campaign – through the simple act of buying your fruit and veg at Tesco, you’re helping FareShare to get fresh, healthy food to children across the UK,” said FareShare CEO Lindsay Boswell. “During the summer months, many families can struggle without the safety net of free school meals. With so many more people facing tough circumstances as a result of the pandemic, this food is needed more than ever.”
FareShare’s network of more than 10,000 charities and community groups in the UK have been trying to keep up with demand since COVID-19 struck, and this effort – both from the retailer and consumers – has gone a long way in bridging food insecurity gaps.
Tesco said its latest initiative assisted more than 5,000 charities and 2.3 million children. The most popular items ranged from cucumbers on Mondays to strawberries on Tuesdays and Wednesday. Bananas also were one of the top-selling items throughout the campaign. The most generous donations outside London came from Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent and Greater Manchester.
“We wanted to find a really simple way to do our bit and help our customers do the same, and we are delighted at the success of the Buy One to Help A Child scheme,” Jason Tarry, Tesco UK and ROI CEO, said. “By encouraging healthier choices for our customers while helping to feed children through our partnership with FareShare we can play our part in supporting stronger communities.”
The Tesco-FareShare partnership dates back to 2016 and the two have combined to serve up 120 million meals for charity, and in particular, summer holiday clubs, breakfast clubs and community kitchens.
