Tesco shoppers in Doncaster can help support families with school holiday donation bags
Crucial need to support children who would normally receive free school meals during term time
Tesco in Doncaster is providing extra help to support children and their families facing hunger this summer.
It comes in response to the crucial need to support children who would normally receive free school meals during term time and are therefore at risk of missing meals during the holiday period.
Trussell says food bank support for children remains 34% higher than before the pandemic, including a 24% increase in the number of emergency food parcels for children under-5.
Meanwhile, a recent survey carried out by Felix, the new name for merged charities FareShare and The Felix Project which found that 41% of local charities receiving food via its nationwide food redistribution network have experienced an increase in demand in the last 12 months.
For a further 13%, demand for food support had more than doubled in the last 12 months due to cost of living pressures.
This summer, until August 30, Tesco will sell its pre-filled food donation bags in all large stores.
The bags, which typically cost between £2 and £4, contain healthy and nutritious long-life food and essentials and can be picked up in store and paid for at the checkout.
The donated items go directly to Felix and Trussell, who will distribute it to charities and food banks to help families who need it most across the UK.
Last summer, food banks in the Trussell community supported around 354,000 people with emergency food,124,000 of whom were children, and the charity expects to see continued high levels of need this summer.
The support through the summer holidays comes in addition to Tesco’s Free Fruit & Veg for Schools programme which currently supports more than 500 schools across the UK during term time, helping children access fruit and vegetables during the school day and encouraging healthier eating habits from an early age.
Christine Heffernan, Chief Communications and Sustainability Officer at Tesco, said: “We want to be able to support our charity partners to help those needing a little extra support this summer. Our partnerships with Felix and Trussell are central to this aim. “When you’re out doing your weekly shop this summer, dropping a few tins into a food collection point, picking up a food donation bag in our stores or rounding up our grocery bill, can make a difference to the lives of thousands of children in communities across the UK.”