20 October 2022
Tesco has announced a new £1m support package for FareShare and the Trussell Trust to help both charities through the tough winter ahead.
“We are incredibly grateful to Tesco for their generous donation that will help us to continue providing food to the people most in need that will rely on their local charities this winter.”
FareShare Chief Executive, Lindsay Boswell CBE
With frontline charities hit by a double whammy of unprecedented demand and soaring operating costs, Tesco has stepped in with a £1m donation split between FareShare and the Trussell Trust to help them meet the exceptional challenges they are facing.
The extra money comes in addition to the ongoing support the supermarket provides to both charities, having worked in partnership with them for the past decade. In the past year alone, Tesco has provided 20 million meals of surplus food FareShare, whilst Tesco and its customers are the biggest source of food donations for the Trussell Trust’s foodbanks.
FareShare’s regional centres, which supply frontline charities and community groups across the UK with food, are facing rising bills to keep fridges and freezers running and to keep delivery vans on the road. One of its regions, FareShare Midlands, expects its fuel bills to be up to 70% higher this winter.
Tesco UK and ROI CEO, Jason Tarry, said: “We work closely with both the Trussell Trust and FareShare and on a recent visit to a food bank in Lambeth, I saw first-hand the challenges of supporting more people against a background of rising costs.
“That’s why I’m proud that Tesco is one of the first to respond to the Trussell Trust’s emergency appeal with a £1m donation. We hope this will help both charities – and food banks across the UK - continue the vital work they do as we go into winter. We will, of course, continue our regular donations from both Tesco and our generous customers, which has seen us donate 100 million meals in the last decade.”
Emma Revie, Chief Executive at the Trussell Trust, said: “This tsunami of need has led to the Trussell Trust launching our first ever emergency appeal and we are extremely grateful to Tesco for pledging help for our food banks at the time when they need it most. This much-needed donation is in addition to the generous support that Tesco have provided throughout their 10-year partnership.”
FareShare Chief Executive, Lindsay Boswell CBE, added: “The vast increase in the cost of living is having a disproportionate impact on people already struggling to make ends meet. As a result, the 9,500 charities and community groups FareShare support in the UK say demand for our food is higher than ever.
“In addition, higher energy and fuel prices make it more expensive for FareShare to both deliver and safely store good-to-eat surplus food in our national network of warehouses. The cost of living crisis shows no sign of easing off and will only worsen as we approach Christmas."
