Tesco customers in Falkirk donate more than 20,000 meals this Christmas

Thousands of meals have been provided to people in need this Christmas thanks to customer donations at Tesco stores across Falkirk.

Generous customers donated more than 20,000 meals for food charities FareShare and The Trussell Trust during the Tesco Food Collection, which ran in stores from November 29 to December 1.

Customers were asked to donate long-life items to help people in need as part of their usual shop – and they were more generous than ever with an increase on the previous year’s collection.

Falkirk Foodbank is one of the beneficiaries of the appeal.

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With this year’s UK-wide total of 3.5 million meals donated to the charities, the overall total given by shoppers since the Tesco Food Collection scheme began in 2012 is more than 52 million meals.

The two charities, FareShare and The Trussell Trust, see an increase in the need for donations at this time of year. The food donated to foodbanks in The Trussell Trust’s network is given in emergency food parcels to people referred because they cannot afford to feed themselves and their families. Food donated to FareShare is distributed to charities and community groups who use it to provide meals for vulnerable groups such as isolated older people and those in homeless shelters.

To help the charities in their work, Tesco is once again topping up the value of the customer donations by 20 per cent, providing the two charities with funding to run the foodbanks and distribute the food to those in need.

Emma Revie, chief executive at The Trussell Trust, said: “Our foodbank network has spent the last month making sure that people referred to them with no money for food don’t go hungry this Christmas. This work has been made possible thanks to the incredible generosity of Tesco customers, store colleagues and volunteers during the Food Collection.”

Tesco’s UK CEO Jason Tarry said: “Year upon year we are taken aback by the generosity of customers who give to the Tesco Food Collection in our stores the length and breadth of the UK.”