Bradford, UK, 2018-Mar-08 — /EPR Retail News/ — Morrisons formalised a partnership between its food production sites and the food redistribution charity FareShare in April 2017, to use surplus food occurring at their manufacturing sites to benefit people in need. After nine months, the partnership has resulted in enough good quality food for over 100,000 meals being saved from waste and diverted to charities supporting vulnerable people across the UK.
Numerous Morrisons production sites have committed to work with FareShare, including the retailer’s fish processing plant in Grimsby which was the first to come on board, followed by their fruit packing house Cutler Heights and most recently, vegetable packing house Clayholes Farm in Carnoustie and the Gadbrook Regional Distribution Centre.
The recent addition of Clayholes Farm in December 2017 means that FareShare in Scotland now receives a regular supply of surplus potatoes. The Morrisons team recognised that potatoes used as quality samples could be collected and bagged up for donation to FareShare, rather than going to animal feed. The samples are now sent to FareShare Glasgow once a fortnight, where they are redistributed to local frontline charities.
The provision of off-cut grapes from the retailer’s fruit packing house Cutler Heights has grown from strength to strength since the project started in November 2017. FareShare now receives surplus grapes three times a week from the Bradford site, which are distributed nationwide to the charity’s network of Regional Centres. Three months since the project began, FareShare has received 40 tonnes of off-cut green grapes, which has directly benefited over 1,400 charities, including children’s breakfast clubs, day centres for older people and community centres in deprived areas. As of this week, the project has been expanded to include red surplus grapes, which is projected to significantly increase volumes donated.
Following the success of the partnership, Morrisons will work with Fareshare to embed the FareShare redistribution model further into their wider manufacturing network.
Lindsay Boswell, CEO of FareShare says: “We are incredibly proud of our partnership with Morrisons. Thanks to collaboration across multiple production sites, FareShare is able to access a range of fresh, nutritious food that is in such high demand by the thousands of frontline charities we support – items like fresh fish, potatoes and fruit. These types of surplus foods go a long way to helping local charities provide hot, nutritious meals for those who might otherwise go without. The fact that we have already reached a milestone of providing over 100,000 meals is testament to Morrisons commitment to putting their surplus food to the best possible use.”
Steven Butts, Head of Corporate Services at Morrisons says: “As a foodmaker that makes most of the fresh food we sell, our manufacturing sites represent the best opportunity to make a real difference by working with FareShare. We want more and more people to be able to eat well and that means ensuring as little as possible is wasted. Working with FareShare means we get surplus food made into wholesome meals where they are needed.”
UK: Asda, FareShare and The Trussell Trust team up to help one million people out of food poverty
Leeds, UK, 2018-Feb-09 — /EPR Retail News/ — Asda and food redistribution charities FareShare and The Trussell Trust have today announced that they will be working together on a new partnership designed to help one million people out of food poverty over the next three years.
The programme will be funded by Asda, and see the supermarket invest at least £20 million in developing the infrastructure of FareShare, which operate a distribution network for food donations and The Trussell Trust, who are the UK’s biggest operator of foodbanks.
Asda’s investment will allow the two charities to develop their infrastructure and offer better services to those in need. Currently, both charities struggle to transport and store fresh food, which needs to be chilled, and means those using food banks are reliant on mainly tinned and packet foods. The investment will also fund support services in food banks, such as debt counselling and job advice, allowing people to begin to get themselves out of food poverty.
Asda has also committed to making sure all of its shops are able to donate surplus food to food banks by 2020.
The partnership will enable FareShare and The Trussell Trust to provide an additional 24 million meals every year, give 500,000 more people access to fresh food in the UK and help one million people get themselves out of food poverty over the next three years.
In a blog post published this morning, Andy Murray, Asda’s Chief Customer Officer, said: “Right now, in the UK 8.4 million people are struggling to afford to eat. One in 10 people in the UK are missing meals to pay their bills – and one in four of those are children. And yet, four million tonnes of perfectly decent food is wasted each year in the UK. We simply cannot – and will not – accept food being wasted whilst people in our communities go hungry. We’ve listened to our customers and want to take on their challenge to fight hunger and create change.”
Lindsay Boswell, Chief Executive of FareShare UK, said: “Based on my 25 years of senior experience in the Voluntary Sector, I believe that Asda’s investment in tackling hunger and food waste in support of front line charities has the potential to create such a multiplier effect that it could well be the largest single act of support since the creation of the National Lottery or the introduction of Gift Aid.”
Sam Stapley, Head of Operations for The Trussell Trust England, said: “The scale and nature of this funding is unprecedented. Asda’s investment means they can expand their reach and develop new projects bringing very real, tangible benefits to local communities and to anyone struggling with food insecurity in a way that simply has not been possible before.”
To read the full blog post from Andy Murray and find out more about the Asda Fight Hunger Create Change programme click here.
MANCHESTER, UK, 2017-Dec-12 — /EPR Retail News/ — The Co-op has pledged to provide 100,000 meals to vulnerable people in the run-up to Christmas through its partnership with food redistribution charity FareShare.
The move follows news that since 2013, the community retailer has supplied almost 1,300 tonnes – enough to provide over 3,085,000 meals to those in need – by redistributing surplus food through its UK-wide network of nine depots.
Meat, fruit, vegetables, ready meals and chilled items are all passed to FareShare who then allocate it to local charities and community groups so they can provide balanced and nutritious meals.
The volume of Co-op surplus food redistributed from January to November is 435 tonnes, which equates to approximately 1,000,000 meals. With just two weeks to go until the end of the year, the Co-op will redistribute an additional 40 tonnes, which is equivalent to another 100,000 meals – taking the total to 1.1 million.
Over 1,135 charities and community groups have received Co-op food through FareShare this year. They include includes children’s breakfast and after school clubs, youth centres, hostels and supported housing for people suffering from homelessness, community cafes, older people’s services to tackle social isolation, food banks, and family and children’s centres.
Cathryn Higgs, head of food policy at the Co-op, said: “We’re very proud of our partnership with FareShare which has enabled us to provide over three million meals to vulnerable people in just four years. Our long-term ambition is that no food fit for consumption should go to waste and that’s why we are why we are working hard to provide an extra 100,000 meals in the run up to Christmas – a time of year that is so strongly associated with the enjoyment of food. Whilst so many people in the UK still aren’t able to get access to a nutritious cooked-meal we must do whatever is necessary to support the work of FareShare and put an end to unnecessary food waste.”
Lindsay Boswell, Chief Executive of FareShare, said: “FareShare is undergoing a period of rapid growth at present, coupled with unprecedented demand for food from the voluntary sector. The food we receive from the Co-op has been critical to our ability to supply thousands more charities on the front line helping those in need. We congratulate the Co-op for providing over three million meals so far and give thanks to all those involved in ensuring this valuable food continues to reach us week in week out.”
In April, the Co-op launched a 60-store trial to redistribute food from its food stores.
Tesco kicks off “Everyone’s Welcome” Christmas campaign and pledges to donate £1 for every fresh turkey sold to help people in need.
Welwyn Garden City, UK, 2017-Nov-08 — /EPR Retail News/ — Tesco has launched its 2017 Christmas campaign with the first of five television adverts airing on ITV last night. This year, the retailer will be celebrating the different ways millions of UK shoppers enjoy Christmas, and how great food sits at the heart of it all. It will also provide lots of little helps for customers during the fun and frantic festive period.
The campaign, which kicked off last night, features Tesco’s fantastic range of turkey. Tesco are also proud to be offering their finest* Narragansett turkey which won the award for top Christmas turkey in the recent BBC Good Food awards.
Tesco will donate £1 for every fresh turkey bought instore or online, shared between its food charity partners FareShare and The Trussell Trust to help people in need over the festive period.
The initiative builds on the continued support offered by the retailer to local communities through its annual Food Collection, and its food surplus redistribution scheme, Community Food Connection. Last year, Tesco became the first retailer to pledge that no food that is safe for human consumption will go to waste from its UK operations, and since 2012, Tesco customers and colleagues have donated the equivalent of over 60 million meals to people in need.
“This year, our campaign will celebrate the many ways we come together at Christmas, and how food sits at the heart of it all. We want our customers to know that however they choose to do Christmas, and no matter what they need, we can help – Everyone’s Welcome at Tesco.
“As part of our campaign this year, we’re delighted to work with our long-term charity partners FareShare and The Trussell Trust to donate £1 for every fresh turkey purchased to help feed people in need this Christmas – it’s another little help for our local communities at an important time of year.”
FareShare Chief Executive Lindsay Boswell said:
“Christmas is the one time of year that brings everyone together however, FareShare is seeing an increased demand to support charities who help people experiencing food poverty or who are alone at this time of year. This generous initiative from Tesco is perfect timing – it means we can help 6,700 charities across the country to continue providing food and life-changing services to those in need this Christmas.”
Samantha Stapley, Operations Manager at The Trussell Trust said:
“We’re seeing soaring demand at foodbanks across the UK and right now thousands of people will be worrying about whether they can afford any food for the family this Christmas. This generous donation from Tesco will help us to support our foodbank network and tackle hunger in communities across the country, so we can hope in the future to see fewer people needing foodbanks – not only at Christmas, but all year round.”
Notes to editors:
£1 from the sale of every fresh turkey in Tesco between 6 November 2017 and 25 December 2017 will be donated to FareShare and the Trussell Trust in equal proportions to help people in need this Christmas.
FareShare is a unique charity fighting hunger and its underlying causes by providing food to more than 1,923 local charities and community organisations across the UK. Click here for more info fareshare.org.uk
The Trussell Trust run a network of over 420 foodbanks across the UK that three days’ emergency food and support to people in crisis across. Click here for more info trusselltrust.org
Tesco runs an annual Food Collection in partnership with FareShare and The Trussell Trust, so that customers can donate long-life food to help people in need at Christmas time: tesco.com/foodcollection
Community Food Connection is the retailer’s surplus food redistribution scheme in partnership with FareShare, which connects stores with local charities to donate unsold food for free: tesco.com/community-food-connection
We are a team of 480,000 in 11 markets dedicated to serving shoppers a little better every day.
For more information please contact the Tesco Press Office on 01707 918 701
Tesco launches the latest in its ‘Food Love Stories’ adverts to highlight its ongoing campaign to tackle food waste
CHESHUNT, England, 2017-Jun-14 — /EPR Retail News/ — Tesco has today [Wednesday 14 June] launched the latest in its series of ‘Food Love Stories’ adverts to highlight its ongoing efforts to tackle food waste.
For the first time, the ‘Food Love Stories, brought to you by Tesco’ campaign showcases Community Food Connection, the retailer’s surplus food redistribution scheme, and Bo’ness Academy, one of 5,000 charities that benefit from the scheme across the UK.
Bo’ness Academy receives surplus food each week from the Tesco Bo’ness store, and turns it into wholesome homemade snacks and cakes for their on-site community café, providing an opportunity for the school children at the Academy to learn new cooking skills, and for the school to give back to the local community. Many of the visitors to the café each week are retired, and it gives them the opportunity to socialise and enjoy good food and company.
Alessandra Bellini, Chief Customer Officer at Tesco said:
“‘Food Love Stories’ is all about how passion for good food can bring people together. So we’re delighted that our new campaign showcases the work of the pupils and teachers at Bo’ness Academy, who turn surplus food from Tesco into delicious food for their local community.
“By the end of the year, no food fit for human consumption will go to waste from our UK stores. Bo’ness Academy is just one of over 5,000 local organisations across the UK benefiting from working with our Community Food Connection programme to use surplus food.”
FareShare Chief Executive Lindsay Boswell, said:
“It’s fantastic that Tesco’s new ‘Food Love Stories’ advert will go out on primetime national TV and help raise the profile of surplus food. There’s no reason at all for good quality, in date food to be thrown away when it could go to a charity who needs it, and the fantastic community café at Bo’ness shows just what a difference that food can make.”
The launch of the advert comes as the Community Food Connection programme reaches a new milestone of 10 million meals of surplus food donated to local charities and community groups right across the UK. The scheme, run in partnership with food redistribution charity FareShare, enables Tesco stores to donate unsold food to feed people in need through a technology platform developed by Irish Social Enterprise, FoodCloud.
The scheme is currently live in over 1,700 stores, and will be rolled out to all Tesco stores by the end of this year.
The advert is the latest in Tesco’s ongoing Food Love Stories campaign, which introduces a new food love story each month to demonstrate the special role food plays in people’s lives. The advert will air on TV from tonight, with spots on Emmerdale, Gogglesprogs, Blacklist and The Voice Kids and will feature an original recipe from the charity; ‘Bo’ness Academy Nothing Wasted Banana Bread’. The recipe was developed by the school, following their experiences cooking with surplus food from Tesco.
Notes to editors:
No Time for Waste
Community Food Connection is part of Tesco’s ongoing work to tackle food waste wherever it occurs – from farm to fork. Tesco believes that no food that could be eaten should be wasted. That’s why we’ve committed that no food that is safe for human consumption will go to waste from the Tesco UK retail operations by the end of 2017.
Food Love Stories
For more information on the Food Love Stories campaign, visit the ‘Food Love Stories, brought to you by Tesco’ website.
Other Food Love Stories this month include; Birdie’s ‘Everybody Welcome’ jerk chicken, Lucy’s ‘Dad’s Favourite’ Pesto Pork and Ray and David’s ‘Simple’ Semi-Freddo
For the ‘Bo’ness Nothing Wasted Banana Bread’ and ‘Birdie’s everybody welcome jerk chicken’ recipe, please visit www.tesco.com/foodlovestories
Community Food Connection
If you are a charity or community group that uses food to support people, you can sign up to Community Food Connection and could collect good quality, surplus food from Tesco stores for free.
Community Food Connection is run in partnership with food redistribution charity FareShare
FareShare is the UK’s largest food redistribution charity, currently accessing 5% of what is available from the food industry.
LONDON, 2017-Jun-14 — /EPR Retail News/ — A further 22 branches will use the IT platform to let local groups know about surplus food
Charities will be offered volunteers and money to buy equipment such as freezers
As Waitrose extends its successful FareShare trial to 25 branches in total this month, it has today (12 June 2017) announced it will make funds and Partner (employee) volunteers available to local groups using the IT platform to collect surplus food from the retailer.
In a supermarket first, as part of the tie up, groups which collect surplus food will be offered funds from the Waitrose Community Matters (green tokens) scheme which donates money to local good causes, as well as volunteers from its shops.
Through the partnership, FareShare will help organisations make the most of Waitrose money and volunteers, to provide exactly what charities need to maximise support to vulnerable people. This could include funds to buy kitchen equipment or storage, or volunteers to help serve food – going a step beyond simply donating produce.
Since launching the trial in March in three shops initially, an equivalent of 4250 meals have been donated to 12 charities. The FareShare scheme helps shops easily communicate with local groups, letting them know what surplus food is available and when it can be collected.
Laura Strangeway, Sustainability Manager, said ‘In the five years we’ve been donating surplus food prior to these trials, we’ve found one of the main challenges is letting local charities know what food we have available for them to collect and when. And, with many local groups being very small, they can have limited resources to make the most of the food donations we can offer. The ease of FareShare – coupled with the additional equipment and manpower we’re offering – should make it much easier for groups to help many more people in the local community.’
Lindsay Boswell, CEO of FareShare, the UK’s largest food redistribution charity, said ‘So far the trial has got off to a great start, with charities lining up to collect good quality surplus food from their local Waitrose store for free. We’re delighted by the support Waitrose Partners have shown for the scheme. Quite rightly, they believe there’s no reason food should be thrown away when it could go to feed hungry people, and already that food is doing a tremendous amount of good.’
Notes to Editors
If a group that uses food to support people is interested in receiving surplus goods please direct them here.
The three trial branches since March have been Bracknell, Southampton and Sherbourne. The trial has extended to a total of 25 branches, with 10 branches adopting the FareShare IT platform on 12 June and 12 more on 19 June. Subject to the success of the trials, Waitrose plans to extend FareShare to all its branches by summer 2018.
The new branches involved:
Branches using the FareShare IT platform from 12 June:
Bath
Cheltenham
Chester
Clifton
Great Malvern
Lichfield
Menai Bridge
Newark
Portishead
Truro
Branches using the FareShare IT platform from 19 June:
Andover
Basingstoke
Edgware Road
Egham
Guildford
High Wycombe
Hove
Milngavie
Sevenoaks
South Woodford
Southend
St Saviour
Waitrose – winner of the Best Food and Grocery Retailer category at Verdict Customer Satisfaction Awards – currently has 355 shops in England, Scotland, Wales and the Channel Islands, including 65 convenience branches, and another 27 shops at Welcome Break locations. Waitrose also exports its products to 58 countries worldwide and has eight shops which operate under licence in the Middle East.
FareShare is the UK’s largest food redistribution charity, delivering good quality, in date surplus food from the food and drink industry to charities and community groups supporting vulnerable people. The charity ensures only groups who can safely collect, store and prepare food are linked with a local shop. This guarantees all Waitrose surplus food will go to organisations who can safely provide meals to vulnerable people.
Tesco customers donated more than 2.8 million meals to people in need during the ninth Neighbourhood Food Collection
CHESHUNT, England, 2016-Dec-13 — /EPR Retail News/ — Generous Tesco customers got into the festive spirit by donating more than 2.8 million meals to people in need during the ninth Neighbourhood Food Collection, which took place between 1 and 3 December.
This collection brings the total number of meals collected by Tesco customers to an astounding 41 million since the programme began in 2012.
The collection provides essential food for people in need over the festive period and beyond, and will now be redistributed through foodbank charity, The Trussell Trust and food redistribution charity, FareShare.
During the collection, Tesco customers were asked to donate non-perishable food items such as long-life milk, tinned vegetables, tinned meat and Christmas treats. Volunteers from Trussell Trust foodbanks and FareShare joined Tesco colleagues in store over the course of the three days to collect donations from kind-hearted customers.
Tesco will add an extra 20% to all customer donations in the form of financial support to the two charities. This financial top up is used by The Trussell Trust and FareShare to provide additional services such as counselling and housing advice, volunteering and training opportunities as well as helping to cover running costs in order to provide more food to people in crisis.
Matt Davies, UK and ROI CEO at Tesco said:
“Once again we’ve been overwhelmed by the incredible generosity our customers have shown in their local communities for the Neighbourhood Food Collection. With winter upon us, it’s absolutely essential this food now goes to helping those in need.
“The collection could not take place without the support and response from our colleagues and volunteers, and we want to thank everyone involved who helped to make this collection so successful.”
The donations come at a vital time when both The Trussell Trust and FareShare see an increase for their support.
David McAuley, Trussell Trust Chief Executive, said
“The staggering generosity of Tesco customers, store colleagues and volunteers, means foodbanks UK wide will be able to provide vital food and support to people who are struggling during what could be our busiest December yet. Thank you for your support – your generosity will help stop hunger this Christmas.”
Lindsay Boswell, CEO of FareShare, said:
“What we’re seeing, right across the country, is an increased demand from the organisations we work with for more food. They have more mouths to feed. There has been a 26% increase in the number of charities signing up to FareShare in the last year, so without the Neighbourhood Food Collection we simply couldn’t meet the growing demand. Every single item of food donated will make a difference, so thank you to everyone involved.”
In addition to the Neighbourhood Food Collection, Tesco has over 600 permanent collection points across the UK where customers can donate food each week.
Food collections also took place at Tesco stores in Central Europe with over 1.1 million meals collected across Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Czech Republic – a 20% increase on last year’s collection. Tesco will add an extra 20% to all customer donations in the form of financial support to charity partners in Central Europe too.
Notes to the Editor
• Since the Neighbourhood Food Collection began in 2012, Tesco customers have donated 41 million meals – this includes customer donations as well as the 20% top-up from Tesco and food donated to our permanent collection points.
• Some Tesco stores collect for their local Trussell Trust foodbank, which will provide a minimum of 3 days’ emergency food supplies to people that have been identified as being in crisis by frontline agencies such as Citizen’s Advice, children’s centres or housing associations. Other stores collect for their regional FareShare depot, where the food is redistributed to community groups and local charities.
About The Trussell Trust
• Every day people in the UK go hungry for reasons ranging from redundancy or bereavement to welfare problems or receiving an unexpected bill on a low income. The Trussell Trust’s network of over 420 foodbanks provides three days’ emergency food and support to people in crisis across the UK.
• From April 2015 to April 2016, Trussell Trust foodbanks provided 1,109,309 three day emergency food supplies to people in crisis. Of those helped, 415,866 went to children.
• Everyone who comes to a Trussell Trust foodbank is referred by a frontline professional like a Citizens Advice worker, health visitor or children’s centre.
• Trussell Trust foodbanks do much more than food: they provide a listening ear and help resolve the underlying cause of the crisis either through signposting onto relevant local charities or providing on-site immediate support, such as holiday clubs or budgeting and cookery courses.
• Find out more at www.trusselltrust.org
About FareShare
FareShare is a UK-wide charity that tackles food waste and food poverty by redistributing in date, good food from the food & drink industry, that would otherwise go to waste, to frontline charities and community groups that support vulnerable people, including homeless shelters, children’s breakfast clubs, and domestic violence refuges. These organisations transform the food into nutritious meals, which they provide alongside life-changing support.
In 2015/16, FareShare redistributed 10,795 tonnes of food to 4,652 charities and community groups, enough to provide 21.9 million meals for people in need with an estimated value to the charity sector of £21.7 million. FareShare helped to feed 499,140 people every week. To find out more, please visit www.fareshare.org.uk
We are a team of 480,000 in 11 markets dedicated to serving shoppers a little better every day.
For more information please contact the Tesco Press Office on 01707 918 701
Tesco hosts its biggest ever Neighbourhood Food Collection, December 1-3, 2016
CHESHUNT, England, 2016-Dec-02 — /EPR Retail News/ — Tesco is encouraging people across the UK to donate generously during its biggest ever Neighbourhood Food Collection, which takes place in all Tesco stores from Thursday 1 December until Saturday 3 December.
The Neighbourhood Food Collection, run by Tesco with foodbank charity, The Trussell Trust and food redistribution charity, FareShare, is aiming to provide at least five million meals to help feed people in need this winter.
Both The Trussell Trust and FareShare see an increase in the need for their support during the winter, with the extra cost of heating that comes with the cold weather adding another pressure for families struggling to make ends meet.
For other vulnerable people, it’s isolation or the need for greater support services, which has led to an 26% increase in the number of charities signing up to FareShare for food deliveries in the last year.
Since the Neighbourhood Food Collection launched in 2012, the equivalent of more than 38 million meals have been donated to people in need by generous Tesco customers. Tesco also tops up customer donations by 20%, the only retailer to top up customer donations in this way – helping the charities grow and provide additional support to people in need.
Matt Davies, UK and ROI CEO at Tesco said:
“It’s so great to witness the generosity of our customers each time we hold a Neighbourhood Food Collection. That’s especially true at Christmas, when the Trussell Trust and FareShare see an increase in demand for the support they provide people who are struggling to make ends meet.
“Together with the 20% top-up provided by Tesco, we’re hoping this collection will go on to help more people in need than ever before.”
The Neighbourhood Food Collection is part of Tesco’s ongoing effort to encourage customers to donate long-life food to charity. Their two charity partners – The Trussell Trust and FareShare – support a wide range of people across the UK who find themselves in desperate need of support.
There are many reasons why people find themselves in this situation, from receiving an unexpected bill when on a low income to being alone and struggling to fight an addiction.
David McAuley CEO at The Trussell Trust said:
“For families already managing tight budgets, winter is often the hardest time of year. Every December Trussell Trust foodbanks meet people who have been hit by something unavoidable, like redundancy or illness, and are facing Christmas unable to afford food. New foodbank statistics out tomorrow suggest foodbank use could double in the lead up to Christmas. We’re very grateful for the donations of Tesco shoppers, colleagues and volunteers – your generosity will help stop hunger this Christmas.”
Lindsay Boswell, CEO of FareShare, said:
“The Neighbourhood Food Collection really helps us in our work to provide good food to thousands of amazing frontline organisations in the UK, which support people who are struggling to feed themselves. These organisations work tirelessly to provide life-changing support to people in need. Every single item of food donated will make a difference, so thank you to everyone involved in the Neighbourhood Food Collection.”
In addition to the Neighbourhood Food Collection, Tesco has over 600 permanent collection points across the UK where customers can donate food each week.
Notes to the Editor
Tesco has been running Neighbourhood Food Collections since 2012 and has collected 38 million meals so far.
Some Tesco stores collect for their local Trussell Trust foodbank, which will provide a minimum of 3 days’ emergency food supplies to people that have been identified as being in crisis by frontline agencies such as Citizen’s Advice, children’s centres or housing associations. Other stores collect for their regional FareShare depot, where the food is redistributed to community groups and local charities.
This financial top up is used by The Trussell Trust and FareShare to provide additional services such as counselling and housing advice, volunteering and training opportunities as well as helping to cover running costs in order to provide more food to hungry people.
About The Trussell Trust
Every day people in the UK go hungry for reasons ranging from redundancy or bereavement to welfare problems or receiving an unexpected bill on a low income. The Trussell Trust’s network of over 420 foodbanks provides three days’ emergency food and support to people in crisis across the UK.
From April 2015 to April 2016, Trussell Trust foodbanks provided 1,109,309 three day emergency food supplies to people in crisis. Of those helped, 415,866 went to children.
Everyone who comes to a Trussell Trust foodbank is referred by a frontline professional like a Citizens Advice worker, health visitor or children’s centre.
Trussell Trust foodbanks do much more than food: they provide a listening ear and help resolve the underlying cause of the crisis either through signposting onto relevant local charities or providing on-site immediate support, such as holiday clubs or budgeting and cookery courses.
FareShare is a UK-wide charity that tackles food waste and food poverty by redistributing in date, good food from the food & drink industry, that would otherwise go to waste, to frontline charities and community groups that support vulnerable people, including homeless shelters, children’s breakfast clubs, and domestic violence refuges. These organisations transform the food into nutritious meals, which they provide alongside life-changing support.
In 2015/16, FareShare redistributed 10,795 tonnes of food to 4,652 charities and community groups, enough to provide 21.9 million meals for people in need with an estimated value to the charity sector of £21.7 million. FareShare helped to feed 499,140 people every week. To find out more, please visit www.fareshare.org.uk.
We are a team of 480,000 in 11 markets dedicated to serving shoppers a little better every day.
For more information please contact the Tesco Press Office on 01707 918 701
CHESHUNT, England, 2016-Mar-14 — /EPR Retail News/ — Tesco announces nationwide rollout of Community Food Connection with FareShare FoodCloud, which will redirect millions of meals of Tesco surplus food to charity by end of 2017.
Tesco CEO Dave Lewis has today announced the nationwide rollout of an initiative designed to dramatically reduce the amount of food that goes to waste.
The move follows through a farm to fork commitment by Tesco to tackle food waste from its suppliers, through its stores, and customers’ homes.
The groundbreaking nationwide scheme – Community Food Connection with FareShare FoodCloud – is being launched this week in 15 cities and regions across the UK including Manchester, Birmingham, Southampton and Portsmouth.
In the coming months the initiative will be rolled out to Leeds, Leicester, Kent and the West Midlands. Tesco has said it will reach all large Tesco stores – numbering over 800 – by the end of 2016, with all stores covered by the end of 2017.
Community Food Connection is powered by FareShare FoodCloud, an open platform that helps store colleagues and charities work together seamlessly.
Tesco also believes that once fully developed, other retailers could adopt FareShare FoodCloud to create an industry standard platform to make a real difference to local charities and communities.
According to Tesco, food waste is a global issue. Chief Executive, Dave Lewis was recently appointed chair of a coalition of leaders from government, businesses, international organisations, research institutions, and civil society called Champions 12.3. The Champions 12.3 coalition will work to create political, business and social momentum to reduce food loss and waste around the world.
Dave Lewis, Tesco CEO said:
“We believe no food that could be eaten should be wasted – that’s why we have committed that no surplus food should go to waste from our stores.
“We know it’s an issue our customers really care about, and wherever there’s surplus food at Tesco stores, we’re committed to donating it to local charities so we can help feed people in need.
“But we know the challenge is bigger than this and that’s why we’ve made a farm to fork commitment to reduce food waste upstream with our suppliers and in our own operations and downstream in our customers’ own homes.”
The scheme has already been piloted in fourteen Tesco stores over the past six months and has generated over 22 tonnes of food – the equivalent to 50,000 meals.
Tesco and FareShare are calling out for 5,000 charities and community groups to join up and receive free surplus food through the scheme, as part of a huge nationwide charity recruitment drive.
The scheme will be in place in all Tesco stores by the end of 2017, which means thousands of charities all over the country will benefit from millions of pounds worth of surplus food each year.
The latest figures show 55,400 tonnes of food were thrown away at Tesco stores and distribution centres in the UK last year, of which around 30,000 tonnes could otherwise have been eaten – equivalent to around 70 million meals.
Lindsay Boswell, FareShare CEO said:
“We are delighted to be offering our store level solution in partnership with Tesco who are demonstrating real leadership in tackling food surplus.
“FareShare FoodCloud is a natural extension of our work together which has already provided nine million meals to help feed vulnerable people.
“Our role as a trusted partner to the voluntary sector is really important to the charities and community groups we work with and we are excited to launch this new service with Tesco’s support.
Tesco remains the only UK retailer to publish transparent data about food waste from its own operations. The next set of food waste data will be published by Tesco in May.
For more information please contact the Tesco Press Office on 01707 918 701
We are a team of 480,000 in 11 markets dedicated to serving shoppers a little better every day.
Notes to Editors
About Community Food Connection with FareShare FoodCloud
Through Community Food Connection with FareShare FoodCloud, Tesco store managers alert charities and community groups to the amount of surplus food they have at the end of each day. The charity then confirms it wants the food, picks it up free of charge from the store and turns it into meals for people who need it.
Beneficiaries of the charities receiving food come from the wide range of charities supported by FareShare including homeless hostels, women’s refuges and breakfast clubs for disadvantaged children.
About the work Tesco has done to reduce food waste Our goal at Tesco is to never throw away food that could be eaten: if we can’t sell it, we will offer it to charities and community groups to feed people in need. By 2017 we will roll out Community Food Connection to all of our UK stores.
Community Food Connection with FareShare FoodCloud is the latest innovation in Tesco’s work with FareShare on the provision of surplus food. The partnership has included activities which make food available from the Tesco supply chain, Distribution Centres and Dotcom centres. This has seen four and a half million meals of surplus food donated to support nearly 2,000 charities and community groups across the UK.
Tesco sees a shared responsibility when it comes to tackling food waste. It is working with its suppliers to cut food waste in the supply chain, and is helping customers to reduce the amount of food thrown away in their homes.
Tesco ended Buy One Get One Free offers on fruit and vegetables in the UK in April 2014.
Tesco has also launched a competition in partnership with WRAP and Innovate UK to find new ways of helping reduce the amount of good food that ends up in the bin at home. Entrepreneurs will be invited to present their ideas to Tesco, and the best ideas will be trialled by the retailer. Food waste has a huge impact on family finances with UK families estimated to throw around £700 worth of food away each year.
About Champions 12.3 Dave Lewis will be chairing a coalition of leaders from government, businesses, international organizations, research institutions, and civil society called Champions 12.3. This group will be dedicated to accelerating progress towards achieving the UN Sustainable Development Target 12.3 by 2030.
The UN Sustainable Development Goal 12 seeks to “ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.” The third target under this goal (Target 12.3) calls for cutting in half per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer level, and reducing food losses along production and supply chains by 2030.
CHESHUNT, England, 2015-12-14 — /EPR Retail News/ — Generous Tesco customers have donated more than 3.7 million meals during the seventh Neighbourhood Food Collection, which took place between 3rd and 5th December 2015, bringing the total number of meals collected by Tesco customers to over 30 million since the programme began in 2012.
The collection provides essential lifelines for people in need over the festive period and will be redistributed through charity partners FareShare and The Trussell Trust. For many people in food poverty, food is just the first step in helping them access other services and support which can help get their lives back on track, so the potential impact of a food donation cannot be underestimated.
The food donated by kind-hearted Tesco customers over these three days equates to more than 3.7 million meals, which will be split between charity partners FareShare and The Trussell Trust. This collection takes the total number of meals raised for people in need since the Neighbourhood Food Collection began in 2012 past the 30 million mark.
Tesco will add an extra 30% to all customer donations in the form of financial support to the two charities, helping them expand their network and reach more people in need. Examples of how the charities have previously used the Tesco top-up funding include investing in additional services at foodbanks and funding vehicle costs for delivery in rural communities. Since 2012 the top-up has resulted in combined funding of over £3.6 million to FareShare and The Trussell Trust.
During the collection, customers were asked to donate non-perishable food items such as long-life milk, cereals and tinned goods such as fish, fruit and vegetables. Volunteers from The Trussell Trust, FareShare, [BT and the British Red Cross] joined Tesco colleagues in store over the course of the three days to collect donations from customers.
Josh Hardie, Corporate Responsibility Director for Tesco, said:“Once again we are humbled by the enormous generosity our customers have shown in their local communities for the Neighbourhood Food Collection. Many people are facing tough circumstances which are often worsened during the cold winter months – a time when most of us are feeling festive – and the food donated plays a vital role in helping many people in need. Also, the collection could not take place without the support and response from our colleagues and volunteers, and we want to thank everyone involved that has made this such a storming success.”
Lindsay Boswell, CEO of FareShare, said: “The Neighbourhood Food Collection genuinely captures the heart of our generous public and helps to raise much awareness of the food poverty issues facing vulnerable people right across the country. The overwhelming level of donations means we can provide even more food to our member charities and help feed more people in need, not just at Christmas, but all year round.”
David McAuley, Trussell Trust Chief Executive, said: “We want to say a massive thank you to all those who participated in this December’s Neighbourhood Food Collection. Christmas is a particularly stark time to face hunger. For families already managing on extremely tight budgets, increased winter fuel bills and the absence of free school meals can force people to make harsh choices between heating the home or feeding the family. We’ve met families who are all sleeping in one room to share warmth, school children too cold to sleep and elderly people down to their last tin of food. There are too many people struggling to afford fuel and food in the UK. The staggering generosity of Tesco customers, store staff and volunteers, will enable foodbanks UK wide to provide vital food and support to people who find themselves struggling, making this Christmas a little brighter for people in crisis.”
ENDS
Notes to editors
Across the country Tesco customers and colleagues donated generously to the appeal, with select regional totals, including Tesco’s 30% top-up, provided below:
Greater London: 337,276 meals donated
Aberdeen: 31,460 meals donated
Glasgow: 44,500 meals donated
Scotland total: 531,858 meals donated
Cardiff: 28,923 meals donated
Swansea: 15,015 meals donated
Wales total: 259,379 meals donated
Belfast: 37,146 meals donated
Manchester: 47,360 meals donated
Liverpool: 54,885 meals donated
Leeds: 18,556 meals donated
Birmingham: 29,655 meals donated
Bristol: 22,778 meals donated
Norwich: 17,841 meals donated
Nottingham: 10,867 meals donated
Southampton: 1,941 meals donated
For more information please contact the Tesco Press Office on 01992 644645
We are a team of 480,000 in 11 markets dedicated to serving shoppers a little better every day.
MANCHESTER, England, 2015-9-15 — /EPR Retail News/ — The Co-operative Food will donate its warehouse depot surplus food to local charities as it diverts food for over a million meals away from anaerobic digestion energy plants.
Following a successful trial at its depot in Castlewood, Derbyshire, the mutual is rolling out the programme from 14 September, supplying a range of chilled food items such as yoghurt, meat, fruit, vegetables and ready meals to the charity FareShare, which passes the food on to charities and community groups who transform it into nutritious meals for vulnerable people.
The findings from the trial show that in ten weeks The Co-operative redistributed 32 tonnes of food from one depot, contributing towards 76,192 meals. The business estimates that in 2016 it could provide 500 tonnes from all depots – enough food for over a million meals.
Steve Murrells, Chief Executive – Retail at The Co-operative Food, said:
“This project has the capacity to improve the variety and nutritional value of the food redistributed by the Co-op, and to significantly increase the number of people that FareShare can support. In addition to the huge human benefit there are significant positive environmental impacts as all of this food will be diverted from anaerobic digestion back into the food chain, feeding people first as was intended.”
“Only a tiny percentage of total food waste – around 1.3 per cent – comes from the grocery retail industry*, but we are committed to reducing this. We are very grateful to all the suppliers that have agreed to support this initiative.”
Lindsay Boswell, CEO of FareShare, said:
“We’re really excited to be working with The Co-operative on this project and we commend them for rolling it out nationwide. It’s been fantastic to see how well the new process has worked at Castlewood, helping to provide thousands of meals to vulnerable people in Yorkshire. By working with their suppliers, staff and FareShare Regional Centres, The Co-operative has demonstrated real commitment to preventing food waste in the long term and to providing edible surplus food to projects supporting vulnerable people across England, Wales and Scotland.”
Dr Richard Swannell, Director of sustainable food systems at the charity WRAP, said:
“We are delighted to see the progress The Co-operative Food has made in redistributing quality food from across its supply chain. No-one wants to see perfectly edible food in the bin when it can be used to feed people, that’s much better for society, the environment and the economy. This move will help the Co-operative Food and suppliers reduce the amount of food that is lost, and contribute towards the targets of the Courtauld Commitment 3** voluntary agreement.”
Over 3.6 million meals donated during recent Neighbourhood Food Collection in partnership with FareShare and The Trussell Trust
Significant rise in number of donations from in-store permanent collection points from January to July 2015
More than 27.5 million meals have been provided to people in need since Neighbourhood Food Collection began
CHESHUNT, England, 2015-7-10 — /EPR Retail News/ — Tesco customers have donated an incredible 3.6 million meals during the sixth Neighbourhood Food Collection this summer. The figure is an increase of 13% compared to last summer’s collection.
The food will be redistributed to people in need via charity partners FareShare and The Trussell Trust, with Tesco adding an extra 30% to all customer donations.
There has also been a significant increase in the amount of food customers are donating day in day out at in-store permanent collection points. Over 2.1 million meals worth of food were donated at permanent collection points in 507 Tesco stores in the first six months of 2015, almost as much as the whole of 2014 combined.
The total of meals donated to people in need since The Neighbourhood Food Collection began in December 2012 is now at 27.5 million. This includes food donated at in-store permanent collection points, local collections, Tesco’s 30% top-up, plus surplus food from Tesco’s dotcom distribution centres. The total figure for 2015 alone is over 6 million.
During the collection, customers were asked to donate non-perishable food items such as long-life milk, cereals and tinned fruit and vegetables. Volunteers from The Trussell Trust, FareShare, BT and the British Red Cross joined Tesco colleagues in store to collect donations from generous customers.
The food collected will benefit people living in food poverty, many of whom are parents struggling with food costs due to lack of free school meals over the long summer holiday. Over 800,000 families have to pay for childcare costs, with this averaging out at £64 a week. More than a quarter of families also rely on the help of grandparents or other extended family just to ensure that their children have sufficient food during the holidays. *
Food poverty continues to be a serious issue across the UK as figures published by The Trussell Trust this winter showed the number of people helped by foodbanks in the first half of the 2014-15 financial year is 38% higher than numbers helped during the same period last year.
Rebecca Shelley, Group Communications Director for Tesco, said: “The response from our customers, colleagues and volunteers has been incredible and it’s thanks to them that our sixth Neighbourhood Food Collection has gone so well. It’s inspiring that our customers are so generous and give so much to help people in food poverty.”
Lindsay Boswell, CEO of FareShare, said: “Yet again we have been blown away by everyone’s generosity. We are very grateful to Tesco and their colleagues for hosting the event, our amazing volunteers and partner organisations across the country who selflessly gave up their time to help collect food donations to the great British public who responded so generously to the call for action. The food will now be redistributed to over 1,923 charities and community projects supported by FareShare, including play schemes supporting children and families over the holidays. The donations from this Neighbourhood Food Collection will make a huge difference to these organisations’ ability to not only serve nutritious meals for people in need but also to provide additional support to help people back on their feet. Thank you!”
David McAuley, Trussell Trust Chief Executive, said: “We are truly grateful for the amazing effort by Tesco store staff, customers, volunteers and foodbanks in this year’s summer Neighbourhood Food Collection. The donations will make a huge difference to foodbanks’ ability to not only provide a minimum of three days’ emergency food to people in need but also additional support to tackle the root causes of poverty. It is timely given the additional pressure on families of providing lunch time meals and child care during the summer school holiday months.
“I would like to say a special thank you to everyone at Tesco who help make this event such a success. Since the Neighbourhood Food Collection inception in the summer of 2012 Tesco customers have donated over 27 million meals to help feed people in crisis.”
ENDS
*Statistics from ‘Family Spending, 2014 Edition’ from ONS
For media enquiries on FareShare and information on case studies, please contact Susie Haywood onsusie.haywood@fareshare.org.ukor call 020 7394 2460.
Notes to editors
About the Neighbourhood Food Collection:
Tesco works with its food collection partners, foodbank charity the Trussell Trust and food redistribution charity FareShare, to launch the Neighbourhood Food Collection.
From 2-4 July 2015 Tesco customers were encouraged to donate at Tesco food collection points.
Collections began in Express stores on 22 June.
The donations to the Neighbourhood Food Collection go to either FareShare or The Trussell Trust – benefitting families and individuals across the UK.
Tesco provides 30% top up to the charities based on the total weight of the food donated.
To date, the campaign has collected 21.5 million meals for people in need since it launched in 2012.
Top-up based on estimated value of food calculated by The Trussell Trust (England & Wales No. 1110522 & Scotland No.SC044246) or FareShare (No.1100051). The total meals figure includes the 30% top-up, permanent and local collections, plus surplus food provisions from January 2014 to July 2015. Details atwww.tesco.com/foodcollection
About The Trussell Trust:
Every day people in the UK go hungry for reasons ranging from redundancy or bereavement to welfare problems or receiving an unexpected bill on a low income. Trussell Trust’s 400 strong network of foodbanks provide a minimum of three days’ nutritionally balanced emergency food and support to people experiencing crisis in the UK.
In 2014-15 foodbanks provided emergency food to 104,084,604 people nationwide. Of those helped, almost 400,000 were children.
Everyone who comes to a Trussell Trust foodbank is referred by a frontline professional like CAB, housing associations and children’s centres. Over 30,000 professionals refer to foodbanks in the UK.
Over 90% of food given out is donated by the public and over 30,000 people volunteer at Trussell Trust foodbanks across the UK.
Trussell Trust foodbanks do much more than food, they provide a listening ear and help resolve the underlying cause of the crisis. The Trussell Trust is currently piloting having financial advisers in foodbanks, in partnership with Martin Lewis.
The top up is redistributed by the Trussell Trust to participating foodbanks and then used by them to: develop additional beneficiary support services e.g. counselling and housing advice, provide volunteering/training opportunities, help cover running costs, set up social enterprises and purchase food.
3.9 million tonnes of food is wasted every year by the food and drink industry. We estimate 10% of this is surplus and fit for consumption, enough food for 800 million meals. We currently handle approximately 2% of the surplus food available in the UK.
FareShare ensures that good food is put to good use rather than wasted.
Over 1,900 charities and community projects benefit from FareShare food. These include breakfast clubs, women’s refuges and luncheon clubs for older people. These charities save on average £13,000 a year, which can be reinvested into other support services to help people back on their feet.
149,000 people benefit from FareShare food every week.
In the last year, the food redistributed by FareShare contributed towards more than 15.3 million meals.
We also provide training and education around the essential life skills of food preparation and nutrition, and as well as warehouse employability training.
For more information please contact the Tesco Press Office on 01992 644645
We are a team of over 500,000 people in 12 markets dedicated to providing the most compelling offer to our customers.
Brand new scheme called FareShare FoodCloud to be piloted in Tesco stores to give unsold food to charities and not to waste
New figures reveal 55,400 tonnes of food wasted within Tesco operations in the last year, around 30,000 tonnes of which could otherwise have been eaten
Cheshunt, England, 2015-6-8 — /EPR Retail News/ — A groundbreaking new scheme has been launched to redistribute surplus food from Tesco stores to people in need.
Tesco has partnered with UK food redistribution charity FareShare and Irish social enterprise FoodCloud to trial the FareShare FoodCloud app in the UK. Tesco has already been working in different areas of the supply chain to tackle food waste – including through its existing partnership with FareShare – and this new scheme will mean eliminating the need to throw away food in Tesco stores that could otherwise be eaten.
Using the FareShare FoodCloud app, Tesco store managers will alert charities to the amount of surplus food they have at the end of each day. The charity then confirms it wants the food, picks it up free of charge from the store and turns it into meals for those in need. Beneficiaries will come from the wide range of charities FareShare works with including homeless hostels, women’s refuges and breakfast clubs for disadvantaged children.
FoodCloud is supplying its technology and expertise developed from its scheme in Ireland, while FareShare brings its knowledge of the UK charity redistribution market and its experience of providing food to an increasing network of frontline organisations that offer hot meals and other support for people in food poverty. All charities will be supported by FareShare to ensure they are using this surplus food safely.
The scheme is already in place at Tesco stores in Ireland, and will now be piloted in ten Tesco stores around the UK.
New figures recently published reveal 55,400 tonnes of food was thrown away at Tesco stores and distribution centres in the UK over the past year, of which around 30,000 tonnes could otherwise have been eaten.
Tesco is committed to ensuring the upfront work they do to make the scheme effective across their own stores is shared with other retailers and food companies.
Dave Lewis, Tesco CEO said:
“No one wants to throw away food which could otherwise be eaten.
“We don’t throw away much food in our own operations but even the 1% we do throw away amounts to 55,400 tonnes.
“To reduce this amount even further, we’ll be working in partnership with FareShare FoodCloud to ensure any food left unsold in our stores at the end of each day is given to local charities.
“This is potentially the biggest single step we’ve taken to cut food waste, and we hope it marks the start of eliminating the need to throw away edible food in our stores.”
Lindsay Boswell, FareShare CEO said:
“FareShare already has a long standing partnership with Tesco and the development of the FareShare FoodCloud is a natural evolution of this.
“We understand that customers get angry when they see food being wasted in their local store. We do too and that is why we have spent 20 years developing our successful charity redistribution model.
“Our partnership with Tesco means we are already able to access surplus food from their supply chain, Distribution Centres and dotcoms.”
Tesco is the only supermarket to publish its own independently assessed food waste data. The latest publication showed that the amount of food thrown away had dipped from 56,580 tonnes in 2013/14 to 55,400 tonnes in 2014/15.The food most commonly thrown away in Tesco stores is from the bakery, followed by fresh fruit and vegetables and convenience items like pre-packaged sandwiches and salads.
Iseult Ward, Co-founder of FoodCloud said:
“FoodCloud has already been successful in connecting food outlets with charities in Ireland through our unique technological solution for surplus food redistribution.
“Our work in Ireland means that over 300 charities have already benefited from using the platform. It has helped us create a robust model that we have translated for the UK market.
“We are delighted to be working in partnership with both FareShare and Tesco so that we can bring our solution in to the UK to ensure that more charities can benefit. We are looking forward to the developments that will come about as a result of this trial.”
FareShare FoodCloud is the latest innovation in Tesco’s work with FareShare on the provision of surplus food. The partnership spans over three years and has included activities which make food available from the Tesco supply chain, Distribution Centres and Dotcom centres. This has seen four and a half million meals of surplus food donated to support nearly 2,000 charities and community groups across the UK.
Across the food supply chain, around 1% of food waste occurs within supermarket operations. The rest is thrown away earlier in the chain – in suppliers’ fields and factories – or in customers’ own homes.
Tesco sees a shared responsibility when it comes to tackling food waste. It is working with its suppliers to cut food waste in the supply chain, and is helping customers to reduce the amount of food thrown away in their homes. Tesco ended Buy One Get One Free offers on fruit and vegetables in the UK in April 2014. Tesco has also worked with the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) to include ‘Love Food Hate Waste’ hints and tips on the packaging of a number of fruit and vegetable products on sale.
Notes to editors
We want to do everything we can to make sure as much surplus food as possible goes to people who really need it. If this isn’t possible, food waste is recycled and used to feed farm animals or used for biofuels.
If you are already a charity receiving food directly from a store then this will not affect your ability to continue picking this up.
About FareShare:
FareShare is a unique charity fighting hunger and its underlying causes by providing food to more than 1,923 local charities and community organisations across the UK, including homeless shelters, children’s breakfast clubs, women’s refuge centres and luncheon clubs for the older people, helping to feed 149,000 people every week
By working in partnership with the food industry, FareShare received 7,360 tonnes of food last year. The majority of this was surplus and would otherwise have gone to waste. This was mainly fresh produce, such as fruit, vegetables and meat
Last year FareShare redistributed enough food for 15.3 million meals, saving each charity an average of £13,000 a year
FareShare’s member charities prepare and serve the food onsite, offering their beneficiaries a hot, nutritious meal when they may otherwise go without
About FoodCloud:
FoodCloud, an innovative social enterprise founded by social entrepreneurs Iseult Ward and Aoibheann O’Brien, connects businesses that have surplus food to charities in their community that need it, through their technology platform and app.
In the last 12 months FoodCloud have signed up over 100 stores and 300 charities across Ireland, redistributing 431 tonnes of food, the equivalent of almost 1 million meals to charities and community groups.
The unique solution developed by FoodCloud for store level surplus food is one of the first in Europe and has been successfully launched with Tesco Ireland on a national scale.
Within communities food businesses frequently experience food surpluses, while charities struggle to provide food for those who need it most. FoodCloud provides an opportunity for businesses and charities within communities to work together to solve the social and environmental impact associated with food waste and food poverty.
For more information please contact the Tesco Press Office on 01992 644645
We are a team of over 500,000 people in 12 markets dedicated to providing the most compelling offer to our customers.
Cheshunt, England, 2014-12-8 — /EPR Retail News/ — Tesco customers have donated a record number of meals during the fifth Neighbourhood Food Collection, as Brits prove to be more generous than ever before.
4.7 million meals were donated by Tesco customers, to be split between charity partners FareShare and Trussell Trust. The full total of meals donated to people in need since December 2012 is now at 21.5million, weighing in at over 9,000 tons. This includes permanent and local collections plus surplus food provisions.
During the collection, customers were asked to donate non-perishable food items such as long-life milk, cereals and tinned vegetables and fruit. Volunteers from the Trussell Trust, FareShare, Rotary Club, BT and the British Red Cross joined Tesco colleagues in store to collect donations from kind-hearted customers.
The food collected will benefit those living in food poverty, many of whom struggle the most during the winter months. Tesco provides a 30% top up to the charities on all food donated.
The news of the record breaking Neighbourhood Food Collection comes as a survey by YouGov and commissioned by Tesco reveals that a third (32%) of the British public have remembered vulnerable people in need by generously donating food to those in need across the country. The survey also reveals the spread of generosity across the Britain, as the North West comes out on top as the most generous region (39%), ahead of Wales (38%), South East (37%) and Scotland (37%).
Food poverty continues to be a serious issue across the UK despite the economic recovery, as figures published by the Trussell Trust this winter showed the number of people helped by food banks in the first half of the 2014-15 financial year is 38% higher than numbers helped during the same period last year.
Lindsay Boswell, CEO of FareShare, said: “We at FareShare have been blown away by the generosity of people donating in Tesco stores across the country to help people in need. The total amount of food collected this time has been staggering and surpassed all expectations. It is a reflection of our amazing volunteers and partner organisations across the country who selflessly gave up their time to help collect food donations and of the great British public who have responded so generously to the call for action. Sadly food poverty affects a large number of people across the UK and we are now providing food to 32% more charities than we did six months ago. From homeless hostels to breakfast clubs, women’s refuges to lunch clubs for older people, these frontline organisations need food more than ever. The donations from this Neighbourhood Food Collection will make a huge difference to these organisations’ ability to not only serve nutritious meals for people in need but also provide additional support to help people back on their feet. Thank you!”
David McAuley, Trussell Trust Chief Executive, says: “Last year in December alone over 100,000 people received three days’ food from Trussell Trust foodbanks, including over 30,000 children. This year, we’re seeing more people living on a financial knife edge where any small crisis can cause them to go hungry. Thanks to incredible public kindness, many people who would’ve been forced to make tough choices between eating and heating will receive emergency food this winter. Thousands of people who would’ve struggled to put any food on the table on Christmas Day will now receive festive hampers from Trussell Trust foodbanks thanks to the Tesco’s Neighbourhood Food Collection. It’s inspirational to see over a third of the UK now supporting their local food charity, and we’d like to thank everyone who has donated – every can helps.”
Greg Sage, Community Director for Tesco, commented: “The response from our customers, colleagues and volunteers has been incredible and it’s thanks to them that our fifth Neighbourhood Food Collection has broken records. I’d like to thank everyone who took part – they are the ones who made it all happen. It’s really encouraging that people across the UK see Food Poverty as an important issue and continue to provide for those in need.”
For more information please contact the Tesco Press Office on
01992 644645
We are a team of over 500,000 people in 12 markets dedicated to providing the most compelling offer to our customers.
Cheshunt, England, 2014-11-27 — /EPR Retail News/ — Despite the chaos and excitement of the festive period, almost a third (32%) of the British public have remembered vulnerable people in need by generously donating food to those in need across the country, according to a new survey published today.
The survey also reveals the generosity across the Britain, as the North West comes out on top as the most generous region (39%), ahead of Wales (38%), South East (37%) and Scotland (37%).
The survey goes on to show that more females (38%) have donated than their male counterparts (26%), while the youngest 18-24 age group is the most generous (38%) when it comes to food donations in the lead up to Christmas.
Food poverty continues to be a serious issue across the UK despite the economic recovery, as figures published by the Trussell Trust last week showed the number of people helped by food banks in the first half of the 2014-15 financial year is 38% higher than numbers helped during the same period last year.
The survey of 2,030 people, by YouGov*, commissioned by Tesco, comes as the latest Neighbourhood Food Collection is launched, where customers are encouraged to donate food to those in need at Tesco stores right across the country. This is the fifth Neighbourhood Food Collection since 2012.
Food donations to the Neighbourhood Food Collection benefit a range of people across the country, with donations going to either FareShare, a food redistribution charity, or food banks charity The Trussell Trust. Tesco provides a 30% top up to the charities based on the collective weight of donated goods.
To date, the campaign has collected 15.3million meals for people in need since 2012, and the target this year is to provide more than 20million meals. The 15.3 million meals includes the 30% top-up, permanent & local collections, plus surplus food provisions. Neighbourhood Food Collection relies on and is bolstered by volunteers.
Tesco is calling for customers to go instore to donate food to designated food collection points. Follow @Tesco for the latest news and use #everycanhelps to find out more about the initiative. Tesco will also be raising money for the FareShare and the Trussell Trust through the sale of special Christmas hats and cards this year.
Lindsay Boswell, CEO of FareShare, said: “Sadly food poverty affects a large number of people across the UK and we are now providing food to 32% more charities than we did six months ago. From homeless hostels to breakfast clubs, women’s refuges to luncheon clubs for older people, these frontline organisations need food more than ever, so we’re thrilled to partner with Tesco on the Neighbourhood Food Collection again this year. This campaign enables us all to help in a simple practical way, as every item of food donated will make a difference to vulnerable people in our community”
David McAuley, Trussell Trust Chief Executive, said:“In just six months Trussell Trust foodbanks have given 3 days’ food to almost 500,000 people, including over 175,000 children. Redundancy, illness, benefit problems and family breakdown are some of the reasons why people go hungry. Increasingly, people on low-incomes are living on a financial knife edge where even a small crisis can lead families to face hunger. As winter begins to bite, many will be forced to make tough choices between eating and heating, and thousands will struggle to put any food on the table on Christmas Day. Foodbanks are gearing up to meet the growing need over the festive season and we’re excited to team up with Tesco once again to work on Neighbourhood Food Collection for a fifth time. Over 90 percent of food given out by foodbanks is donated by the public, so we’re reliant on people’s generosity. It’s incredible to see over a third of the UK now supporting their local food charity, and we’d urge people to keep giving.”
Greg Sage, Community Director at Tesco, said: “It’s encouraging that people still think food poverty is a serious issue that needs to be tackled, and so many have donated to food banks as a result. This our fifth Neighbourhood Food Collection, and it’s hugely important that we dig deep and do what we can to help people who are in need this Christmas.
“This year we want to break records and provide more meals for people in need than ever before. Our customers can donate food at Tesco stores right across the UK all this week and weekend.”
For more information please contact the Tesco Press Office on
01992 644645
We are a team of over 500,000 people in 12 markets dedicated to providing the most compelling offer to our customers.
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