Help local people get through Christmas
FareShare Central and SE Scotland needs volunteers to help collect donations for local charities as part of the Tesco Food Collection from Thursday 29 November to Saturday 1 December 2018.
Based in Edinburgh, FareShare Central and SE Scotland redistributes good quality surplus food to over 130 charities, including holiday hunger schemes, homeless hostels, refuges, family centres and hospices.
During the cold winter months charities often struggle to keep up with the increased demand on their services, so volunteers are needed to encourage shoppers to vital donate store cupboard staples such as pasta, rice, tinned fish and tea. FareShare will then redistribute these – along with the surplus meat, dairy, fruit and veg that it receives from the food industry – to charities and community groups in the region.
In partnership with FareShare and foodbank charity The Trussell Trust, the Tesco Food Collection is the UK’s biggest food drive. Last year the public donated enough food to provide 3.6 million meals for vulnerable people across the UK.
A Fareshare spokesperson said: “Taking part in the Tesco Food Collection is a quick and easy way to make a big impact, and it can be a lot of fun too. We’re calling on all [region name] locals to give just three hours to help us fight hunger – just a morning or afternoon – but in that short time, just 180 minutes, you can collect enough donations to make up 600 meals for local people who really need your help.
Volunteers can sign up at www.fareshare.org.uk/
About the Tesco 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 29 November to 1 Dec ember 2018 Tesco customers are encouraged to donate at Tesco food collection points.
- The donations to the Tesco Food Collection go to either FareShare or The Trussell Trust – benefitting families and individuals across the UK.
- Tesco provides a financial 20% top up to the charities based on the weight of the food collected.
- To date, the campaign has collected 36.7 million meals for people in need since it launched in 2012.
FareShare Central & South East Scotland is the region’s branch of the UK’s largest food redistribution charity and one of two centres in Scotland. We save over 325 tonnes of good surplus food from right across the food supply chain and redistribute it to 132 charities and community groups in our region.
These charities provide meals as part of their services to people in need – such as children’s breakfast clubs, day clubs for older people, domestic violence refuges, homeless shelters and drug and alcohol rehab units. In 2017/18 we provided enough food for over 774,000 meals (worth more than £525,500 to the charity sector in savings), which helped to feed nearly 10,000 people every week.
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