On the 29th and 30th November, Epping Forest Foodbank took part in the annual Tesco food collection. Last year 850 tonnes of food were donated to the Trussell Trust, supporting thousands of people across the UK. Referrals to foodbanks increase during winter as people who are already in crisis struggle to cope with additional costs of heating bills. The Trussell Trust predicts that this year will be the busiest Christmas yet for foodbanks, so the Tesco collection is so important in helping the foodbank meet demand for emergency food supplies this winter.
A huge thank you goes to the Epping Rotary Club who supported the foodbank with the collection, with Raz Zoers coordinating the event.
40 volunteers in total from the Rotary Club and the foodbank came together to encourage Tesco shoppers to buy an item or two from a shopping list to donate in one of the foodbank collection trolleys at the end of their shop. Shoppers were asked to donate non-perishable items like tinned fruit and vegetables and tinned meat, as well as Christmas fare like mince pies and Christmas pudding. Over the two days, a total of 997.4kg of food was donated. Tesco will top up all donations by 20%, making donations go further.
Shoppers also gave generously in collection buckets, a total of £343.
We would like to say a huge thank you to Tesco customers, Epping Rotary Club, foodbank volunteers and Tesco employees for making this happen. All donations from the collection will go a long way in helping feed local people in crisis in the community.