Hackney Foodbank urges community to donate to food collection in Tesco stores this Christmas

Christmas is supposed to be a season for joy and celebration – but for millions of families, it is one of the toughest times of the year as they struggle to put food on the table and heat their homes.

That’s why Hackney Foodbank is asking shoppers in Hackney to spread some festive kindness and support local people in crisis this Christmas by donating to Tesco’s annual winter food collection.

From Thursday 18 to Saturday 20 November, Tesco customers at Tesco Morning Lane, E9 6ND and Tesco Well St, E9 6QU will be greeted on their way into the store and encouraged to pick up food items as they shop to drop in special donation trollies on the way out of the store. The food donations will be used to support people across the local area who are struggling to put food on the table this Christmas and could be forced to use a food bank over the festive period.

Customers ARE being asked to donate essential items of long-life food such as tinned meat/fish, UHT milk, long-life fruit juice, tinned fruit, jars of curry sauce, baked beans/spaghetti hoops, and tinned carrots/potatoes.

Food banks in the Trussell Trust network face distributing over 7,000 emergency food parcels a day to people in crisis this winter. But with your help, they can help make sure that people in crisis get the support they need over the festive period.

The collection has been organised by Tesco who will generously top up customers’ food donations with a financial donation of 20% of the value of the items donated, which will support Hackney Foodbank in the provision of emergency food parcels and practical support.

Tanya Whitfield, manager of Hackney Foodbank, is urging local people in Hackney to give generously to the food collection during their supermarket shop. Tanya said:

“For many people, the winter period can be extremely challenging with many families struggling to heat their homes and put food on the table. Last year, we provided 20,016 emergency food parcels to people in crisis, but we know it doesn’t have to be like this.No one in Hackney should be facing hunger. We want to see an end to local people needing emergency food at all. We’re determined to work alongside other food banks in the Trussell Trust network to bring about long-term change to end hunger not only during the Christmas season but at any time of year.

However, while we work to tackle the reasons why people don’t have enough money for the essentials, any donations of our most-needed items will be invaluable. Thanks to Tesco and the generosity of its customers, we hope to continue to offer vital support to families and children throughout the winter months.”

The Trussell Trust, which supports a nationwide network of over 1,300 food banks including Hackney Foodbank, has seen year-on-year increases in the number of emergency food parcels distributed to people who are living in crisis. 

Emma Revie, chief executive of the Trussell Trust, said:

“Christmas is supposed to be a season of joy and celebration – but for millions of families, it can also be a particularly tough time of year as they struggle to cover the basic costs of living such as heating, bills, food and other essentials.

Food banks in our network work incredibly hard throughout the year to ensure that people in crisis get support – but Christmas is often their busiest period and we are always truly humbled to see how much Tesco customers are willing to donate to meet this increased need over the winter months.No one should have to go hungry at Christmas or any time of year. But I have no doubt that the generosity of Tesco customers and colleagues this winter will once again help food banks provide the best possible help to families in crisis today while working towards a future where everyone can afford the essentials in life – like food.

Thank you for your generosity - together we can make a difference.”

The Tesco food collection will take place in every Tesco store in the UK. It is the biggest collection of its kind and a vital source of food for the Trussell Trust.

Contact

Tanya Whitfield, Foodbank Manager, can be reached on email on tanya@hackneyfoodbank.org

Hackney Foodbank

• Hackney Foodbank has been providing three days of emergency food and support to local people since 2012

• 25,688 emergency food parcels were provided by Hackney Foodbank between April 2020 and March 2021

• Hackney Foodbank is part of The Trussell Trust network. Visit here for UK-wide Trussell Trust food bank statistics visit
  

About the Trussell Trust

• We’re here to end the need for food banks in UK

• We support a UK-wide network of more than 1,300 food bank centres and together we provide emergency food and support to people locked in poverty, and campaign for change to end the need for food banks in the UK

• Here are our most recent figures for the number of emergency food supplies provided by our network

• The Trussell Trust's food bank network brings together volunteers, staff and supporters of all faiths and none to make a difference. Local churches play a vital part in this work, with around 12,000 churches actively involved in donating food, and providing venues, volunteers and financial support for food banks

• You can read more about our work at trusselltrust.org