Supermarket shoppers in Cumbria have donated more than 7,600 meals-worth of food to help charities feed people during winter.
During the twice-yearly Tesco food collection, which ran in all of the firm’s stores in the UK from November 18 to November 20, customers were asked to donate long-life food to support FareShare and the Trussell Trust.
Stores reported that customers had given the highest volume of food donations to support local charities since the start of the pandemic, providing 1.57 million meals during the campaign, with shoppers in Cumbria donating 7,639 meals.
The donations will help foodbanks in the Trussell Trust’s network provide emergency parcels and help FareShare supply thousands of frontline charities.
Tesco topped up all customer donations with a 20 per cent cash donation to the two charities, to support them in their work feeding people in communities across the UK.
Jeff Green, general manager at FareShare Lancashire and Cumbria, said: “The food collection is so important to FareShare because donations of long-life items means we are able to complement the fresh food that we receive year round from Tesco with staples like rice, tinned vegetables and tea and coffee.
“Thank you to every single Tesco customer that donated to the food collection this year – your generous donations will help us to continue supporting local charities and community groups that are helping to feed people in need this winter.
Claire de Silva, head of community at Tesco thanked all those who took part.
She said: “At this time more than ever, we are hugely grateful for the support of all our customers in Cumbria who have donated in store for making this the biggest collection of long-life food in our stores since the start of the pandemic.
“We know this will make a really significant difference to local people this winter.”
