Plymouth volunteers needed to help collect food for frontline charities this Christmas

Kind-hearted Plymouth people are being urged to sign up to join an army of volunteers needed to collect food for charities feeding people in their community this Christmas.

The Trussell Trust, which provides emergency food parcels to people in crisis, and FareShare, which provides food to thousands of frontline charities and community groups, are seeking volunteers to help during this year’s Tesco Food Collection.

The collection will take place in every Tesco store in the UK from November 18 to 20, and with many people facing a particularly difficult winter, the need to collect food for the charities is greater than ever. Tesco will be topping up the donations made during the collection with a 20% cash donation to help the charities in their work.

The presence of volunteers at the collection has a big impact on the amount of food donated and Julian Mines, CEO at FareShare South West, encouraged people to get involved, warning that charities would be under extra pressure this winter.

He said: “With many people still feeling the effects of the pandemic and, with the huge increase in heating bills and living costs coming in the lead-up to the cold winter months, we know that there will be many people turning to their local grassroots organisations for support with food this Christmas.

“We would be hugely grateful to anyone who is able to volunteer at the Tesco Food Collection this year to encourage more shoppers to donate much-needed food to FareShare so we can continue to support those who need it most.”

Emma Revie, Chief Executive of the Trussell Trust, said people could make a real difference to their local foodbank by volunteering at a nearby Tesco store.

She added: “Christmas can be an extremely difficult time for many people but especially for families facing crisis. We know that in Plymouth many people will be forced to use a food bank over the festive period because they are unable to afford the essentials.

“Supporting the Tesco Food Collection this November by volunteering could make all the difference to your local food bank during this busy period. You could donate a couple of hours of time and volunteer during the collection or you could donate food to your local Tesco’s donation point. Please do get in touch to hear about volunteering opportunities.”

The Tesco Food Collection is the biggest collection of its kind in the UK, and a vital source of food for the two charities. To date, Tesco customers has donated more than 40 million meals during the in-store collections to support their work.

To volunteer for the collection, please sign up via https://fareshare.org.uk/foodcollection/

or https://www.trusselltrust.org/get-involved/tesco-food-collection/