AN APPEAL to shoppers to recycle their bags has been made in a bid to help the borough’s foodbank.
Caring colleagues at Wokingham’s Tesco Superstore are calling on customers to drop off unwanted but usable Bags for Life to a donation point at the store.
More than 40 food parcels are delivered each week by Wokingham Foodbank, with an average large family receiving seven carrier bags’ worth.
The foodbank is keen to cut down on the number of carrier bags it uses, while ensuring that the donated food still reaches those who need it most.
Deliveries have become the only way of getting food parcels to people during lockdown restrictions, although the foodbank is hoping that people will again be able to collect food parcels themselves from next month.
Annette Medhurst, manager at Wokingham Foodbank, said: “People have been telling us that they’ve accumulated a lot of Bags for Life during covid, and we’d love to have those bags that people aren’t using.
“The Finchampstead Road Tesco store has been so supportive of us and of the community as a whole. The store’s drop-off point will make a big difference to us.
“We’re conscious that people shouldn’t be coming to us to donate Bags for Life because it wouldn’t be essential travel, but shopping is essential travel and people can put bags in the store’s collection point at the same time.
“Asking for bags seems quite basic, but we get through a lot each week and we’re very aware of using too many carrier bags. We’d love to cut right down on that.”
Louise Jedras, community champion at the Finchampstead Road Tesco store, said the donation campaign came about because many people were struggling to get hold of Bags for Life.
She added: “With so many families being referred to the foodbank, they go through hundreds of them a week.
“Initially, we couldn’t help with the numbers they were looking for because Tesco’s bid to Remove, Reuse, Recycle means we simply don’t have that many bags available.
“So I wondered if Bags for Life were something we could ask our customers to donate.
“We want strong bags with strong handles, to carry large and heavy items. They can be from any brand or company, and can be cloth or hessian or plastic.
“As long as they are durable and reusable, we don’t mind where they have come from.
“We’ve set up a basket in the store and have designed a poster to let customers know what we are looking for. These are both next to the foodbank drop-off point in the store.
“We’ve already had a positive response from people, but the foodbank could always do with more, and we’re confident our generous customers will really get behind us to help those in need during this difficult time.”
