Supermarket chain Tesco is opening up 250 food donation areas at its Superstores and Tesco Extra stores for shoppers to continue to give to those in need during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Their charitable offerings will be collected and eventually given to foodbanks that are part of the Trussell Trust network or groups associated with FareShare.
Tesco previously had 500 or so locations with donation points for customers to give longer-lasting food items. In return, Tesco is offering an extra 20% to those charities for those food gifts.
“Over the last year, we have been truly humbled to see how much people are willing to donate to food banks in our network through supermarket donation points at Tesco,” Emma Revie, chief executive of the Trussell Trust, said. “This generosity has never been more vital as increasing numbers of people find themselves struggling to afford the essentials. Thanks to Tesco’s ongoing support, the installation of new donation points at stores across the UK will allow shoppers to donate food and help people in crisis within their local community all-year round, while we work in the long term to build a hunger-free future.”
While FareShare has been backing more than 10,000 frontline workers and community organisations during the pandemic, the Trussell Trust helped deliver more than million food parcels in 2020 alone.
“the last year, generous Tesco customers donated the equivalent of one million meals to FareShare, and I’d like to thank every single person for their support,” said Lindsay Boswell, CEO at FareShare.
Shoppers also can donate Tesco Clubcard points to the Trussell Trust and FareShare.
Aldi giving back too: The discount retailer says it is donating almost 400,000 meals to individuals in need over the Easter school holidays.
The supermarket, which has partnered with local charities, community groups and foodbanks to donate surplus food, has prioritised donations to feeding children. Aldi is a founding member of Marcus Rashford’s Child Food Poverty Taskforce and is aiming to donate 10 million meals across the country the UK.
“At a time when more people are experiencing financial hardship and food insecurity due to Covid-19, we are committed to doing what we can to donate more meals in 2021 than ever before,” Mary Dunn, Managing Director of Corporate Responsibility at Aldi UK, said.
