Flintshire Foodbank has put out an urgent request for volunteers to help them in two Flintshire Tesco stores on Saturday.
The UK’s biggest food drive takes place this weekend as charities warn of the increasing need for food.
The 10th annual Tesco Food Collection, which takes place in every Tesco store from 1st-3rd December, comes as charities the Trussell Trust and FareShare expect to provide food to 1.2million people in the UK this winter.
During the collection, shoppers are being encouraged to donate long-life food items at their local Tesco store.
The donations will support food banks in the Trussell Trust’s network to provide emergency parcels to people in crisis and help FareShare supplement fresh food donations to thousands of frontline charities.
Flintshire Foodbank has said it needs volunteers to help out in local Tesco stores on Saturday.
In a post on their Facebook page, a spokesperson for Flintshire Foodbank said: “We are really struggling to get enough volunteers to cover our Tesco Food Drive.”
“It is such an important event for us in the lead up to Christmas, which provides a much needed boost to our stock.”
“We still need volunteers for the following slots tomorrow 3rd December:
At Broughton Tesco- 10am to 12pm, 12pm to 2pm and 2pm to 4pm.
And at Tesco Mold, 12pm to 2pm.”
“If you could spare two hours we would be so grateful! We need volunteers to hand out shopping lists at the entrance of the store and accept donations from customers as they leave.”
During the collection, Tesco customers can also round up their bill at the till to make a small donation to the charities or donate Clubcard vouchers online, with Tesco matching their value.
Tesco CEO Ken Murphy said:
“Our customers have been incredibly generous during our decade-long partnership with the charities and have helped to donate more than 100 million meals’ worth of food to date.
“This is going to be a difficult winter for food banks and charities and every can, packet or jar our customers donate to this weekend’s Tesco Food Collection will make a difference. We will top up all those donations with 20% in cash to support the charities.”
Emma Revie, Chief Executive of the Trussell Trust, said:
“We are extremely grateful to Tesco for the invaluable support that they have provided to food banks across the UK over the last decade, said. Tesco and its customers are the biggest single source of food donations for the Trussell Trust’s network of food banks but our partnership has also offered far more than just food.
“Now, at a time when food banks on the Isle of Wight are facing a tsunami of need created by the soaring cost of living, the support of Tesco and their customers is appreciated now more than ever before. We encourage anyone who is in a position to make a donation to visit a Tesco store on the Isle of Wight and take part in the Winter Collection. You’ll be helping to keep food banks open this winter.”
