Tesco To Donate Bumper Rations To benefit British Charities - Additional 1.7 million Meals Marked

Tesco donates an additional 1.7 million meals to benefit British charities

Tesco has announced it is to donate an extra 1.7 million meals to local benefit charities which service the foods through various banks to need families.

* A Tesco Driver poses with volunteers at FareShare.
(Credit: via Tesco)

In a statement released Friday, Tesco said surplus foods from ten of its ambient distrbution centres will be donated to FareShare.

The move will result in a further 700,000 meals going to those in need this year, in addition to ones Tesco already supplies to FareShare from its fresh distribution centres.

FareShare and its beneficiaries will also receive a one-off donation of one million meals from Tesco from its recently de-listed product lines which include tinned meat, cereals, canned fruit and vegetables.

The food will provide much needed support to people in need right across the country through organisations like women's refuges, homeless shelters and children's breakfast clubs, the statement said.

Rebecca Shelley, Tesco Communication Responsibility Director said: “We hate to waste food and want to do everything we can to support people in need. We have been working with FareShare for the last three years and we know these donations will make a real difference to people’s lives. Every little help can make a big difference and it’s vital that we support those that need it most.”

Lindsay Boswell, FareShare CEO, said: “Over the last 12 months FareShare redistributed over 2,660 tonnes of food from Tesco – including food donated from the twice yearly Neighbourhood Food Collections - to over 2,100 charities across the UK. Our rewarding and longstanding partnership with Tesco means this latest donation will help us reach – and feed - even more vulnerable people.”

Earlier this year, Tesco partnered with FareShare and Irish social enterprise FoodCloud to roll out the FareShare FoodCloud app in the UK. The app will help eliminate the need to throw away food in Tesco stores that could otherwise have been eaten by connecting Tesco stores with local charities.