Forfar Tesco customers praised for generosity

Tesco has said that, despite increased pressures on everyone, shoppers have been their most generous evern in support of the appeal

Customers donated more than 2.4 million meals during the Tesco Food Collection at the beginning of December, with 3581 of those meals donated coming from shoppers in Forfar.

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, 17,643 of which came from Forfar.

The donations to the Trussell Trust help foodbanks 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% in cash.

Jason Tarry, Tesco UK and Northern Ireland CEO attributed the rise in donations – up 53% to the Food Collection alone – to both the incredible generosity of customers, and the supermarket making it easier for them to donate.

He said: “We know that household budgets are very stretched, but our customers have been incredible. We had people donating whole trollies of food at our recent Tesco Food Collection, and it is genuinely heart-warming to see so much kindness.

"The fact that we now have collection points in every store has made it easier than ever for customers to donate, and those donations are really needed.”

The pre-Christmas collection also saw customers donate more than £382,000 to the charities by rounding up their bills at the till, donate £133,000 through a link from Tesco’s online groceries website and give more than £19,000 of Tesco Clubcard vouchers, which Tesco has matched.

Lindsay Boswell, FareShare chief executive, said: “Our charities have told us how difficult things have become, with many expecting to see a huge increase in need as the weather gets even colder.

"The support we have seen will help FareShare to continue getting much-needed food to the people that need it most this winter.”

Emma Revie, Trussell Trust chief executive added: “Food banks across the UK are facing their hardest winter yet as they struggle to cope with a tsunami of need caused by the cost-of- living emergency.

On a daily basis food banks in our network are hearing from families up and down the country who are having to make impossible decisions between putting food on the table or turning on the heating – and too many people are being left with no option but to use a food bank because their money simply won’t stretch.

Thanks to the incredible generosity of Tesco customers, food banks across the Trussell Trust network can continue to provide emergency food and support to people facing hardship. Each and every donation made in Forfar will enable food banks to provide immediate help to people in the local community, while the Trussell Trust works in the long term to build a future without the need for food banks."

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.