Tesco has called for volunteers to assist in its national food drive.
The initiative led by charities, the Trussell Trust and Fareshare , was initially launched to help provide food to struggling families during the summer holidays.
The Big 4 grocer has asked for people to sign up for two-hour slots to encourage shoppers to donate in-store, and to spread the word via social media.
The drive will run from July 15 until July 17.
“More people than ever are struggling to put food on the table and will do for months if not years to come as the economy recovers” Fareshare chief executive Lindsay Boswell said.
“We have seen a huge increase in people turning to their local grassroots community groups for support and demand for food remains high.”
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The food collected in donations will be distributed to Trussell Trust food banks and to local charities, supplied by Fareshare.
Trussell Trust chief executive Emma Revie added: “We’re seeing more people than ever struggling in extreme poverty and pushed to the doors of food banks because they do not have enough money to survive.
“This summer, we would be so grateful if people can share shopping lists of their local food bank’s most-needed items on their social media, support the Tesco Summer Food Collection when they are next in store, and encourage friends and family to donate.
“Together we can make a difference and work towards building a hunger-free future.”
The supermarket revealed it will add 20 per cent in cash to the total amount of food donated by customers.
This is the second year that Tesco has run the food collection, following the launch of its Covid-19 collection last year.
