WOKINGHAM shoppers can pick up an extra bag to put through the checkout this Easter, to support families facing financial difficulties during the school holidays.
Pre-packed Tesco donation bags containing healthy long-life food items will be available in Tesco’s Wokingham Superstore during the Easter break to enable customers to donate more easily the most needed items to families facing financial difficulties.
Claire De Silva, head of communities at Tesco, said: “With the lack of free school meal provision during the holidays, we know that families find it difficult to make ends meet and give their kids nutritious meals.
“Our pre-packed donation bags will support food charities FareShare and Trussell, and make a difference to the lives of thousands of children and their families.”
The Easter Holiday Helps initiative is part of Tesco’s year-round support for schoolchildren as part of the supermarket’s Stronger Starts campaign.
This includes the Fruit and Veg for Schools programme, which helps schools with the highest rates of free school meals by offering grants for purchasing fruit and vegetables from Tesco stores.
The scheme helps children to get healthier snack choices and lunch options while they’re at school.
Tesco partners with the charity Trussell, whose food banks support Wokingham families year-round – with nearly two-thirds of all their support last year provided to families with children. It has seen the number of emergency food parcels for people facing hardship increase by 94% over the past five years.
Another Tesco partner, FareShare, is the UK’s largest food redistribution charity, providing good-to-eat surplus food to a wide range of charities and community groups across the UK – three quarters of which support families with children.
FareShare’s most recent impact report shows that the food they supply helps children get access to nutritious meals, and two in three parents said their children’s performance in school improved as a result.
Tesco continues to support FareShare and other community groups by redistributing unsold food from all its Wokingham stores as part of its Community Food Connection programme.
Customers can also donate the value of their Clubcard vouchers to either FareShare or Trussell online.
Emma Revie, CEO at Trussell, said: “Our network of food banks distributed more than 1.1 million food parcels for children last year, almost double the amount provided just five years ago and this illustrates the unacceptable levels of hardship that many people are currently facing.
“No-one should need to turn to a charity for something as essential as food, and as we work towards achieving the long-term change needed, Tesco’s support this Easter will make a real difference to families across the UK.”
Kris Gibbon-Walsh, Chief Executive at FareShare, said: “During the holidays, many families across the UK struggle without access to free school meals, turning to local charities for help.
“This puts many of the 8,000 charities FareShare supplies food to under increased pressure to meet demand.
“Any donations from Tesco customers this Easter will enable us to continue getting good food to charities supporting and bringing people together around food, helping to strengthen communities and change lives.”
The most-needed items for FareShare and Trussell are: UHT and powered milk, tinned meat and fish, long-life fruit juice, cooking/pasta sauces, tinned vegetables, tinned and dried soup, pasta, rice and noodles, cereal and porridge, tea and coffee, and sponge/rice pudding.
Launched in 2023, Tesco Stronger Starts is a £8million grant programme, in partnership with Groundwork UK, that boosts funds for extra food and activity equipment to give children a stronger start in life.
The grants help schools, children’s groups and wider community projects provide nutritious food and healthy activities that support young people’s physical health and mental wellbeing, such as breakfast clubs or snacks, and equipment for healthy activities.
For more information visit: fareshare.org.uk and: tescoplc.com
