12.5 million meals provided by Lancashire Tesco shoppers to foodbanks and charities

Despite a year which has seen the UK in the grip of the cost-of-living crisis Tesco customers donated more than 2.4 million meals during the Tesco Food Collection at the beginning of December, with 2,793 of those meals donated coming from shoppers in Blackpool, 296 in Blackburn, 4,206 in Barrow in Furness, and 3,581 in Carlisle. The total amount of food donated by Tesco shoppers to the Trussell Trust and FareShare during the year was equivalent of 12.5 million meals, 36,103 of which came from Blackpool and 8,377 from Blackburn. Donations to the Trussell Trust help food banks to provide emergency food parcels to people in crisis, while donations to FareShare support thousands of frontline local charities in communities across the country. Tesco has also topped up all customer donations during the collection by 20 per cent in cash, to support the two charities with their operating costs and ensure the food can get to where it is most needed.

Laura Hodson, Development Manager at Recycling Lives Social Enterprises, FareShare Lancashire and Cumbria, said: “We want to say an enormous thank you to Tesco, and every single person that volunteered and donated across the year and at the Winter Food Collection - we had more than 2,000 amazing volunteers join us in stores this year.”

With both charities continuing to need support, Tesco shoppers can continue to make donations at permanent collection points at every Tesco store in the UK.