Tesco is donating £1m this summer to FareShare and the Trussell Trust in a bid to tackle high levels of need.

The donation is in addition to the supermarket giant’s store-based grants programme Stronger Starts, which aims to help schools and children’s groups in local communities across the UK, and comes as research from Tesco found that one in 12 parents said their children have had to miss meals due to financial constraints.

On top of this, 42% of families said their children will miss out on clubs and activities during the holidays because of the cost.

As a result, this summer will also see Tesco expand its pre-packed customer donation bags to all of its large stores. The bags, which typically cost between £2 and £3 are pre-filled with healthy and nutritious long-life items and can be picked up in store and paid for at the checkout.

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The donated food is passed to FareShare and The Trussell Trust, which will distribute it to charities and food banks to help families who need it most.

In addition to the donation bags, for a week in July and another in August, customers can round up their bill at the checkout to the nearest pound. Last year, customers donated nearly £600,000 which was split between the two organisations.

For families shopping in store, the grocer will also be running its Kids Eat Free scheme in its 317 cafés across the UK over the school summer holidays, offering one free Kids Hot Meal Deal, Kids Breakfast, or Kids Pick ‘n’ Mix deal with each item bought by an adult from as little as 60p when showing their Tesco Clubcard or Clubcard app at the till.

Tesco head of communities Claire De Silva said: “Too often families with too little support during the holidays see their children miss out on the good stuff every child deserves – not just for their physical health but for their mental wellbeing as well.

“If we all pull together over the coming months, whether that’s popping a few tins into a food collection point, picking up a food donation bag in our stores or rounding up our grocery bill, we can make a difference to the lives of thousands of children, who, without support, could have a tough summer holiday.”