Somerset Tesco shoppers have been their most generous ever in support of food banks and local charities, helping to make it a record-breaking year. The total amount of food donated by Tesco shoppers to the Trussell Trust and FareShare during 2022 was equivalent of 12.5 million meals – 195,815 of which came from Somerset.

The total provided from Minehead during the year was 15,043. The donations to the Trussell Trust help food banks to provide emergency food parcels to people in crisis, while donations to FareShare support frontline community charities.

Tesco has also topped up all customer donations during the collection by 20% in cash, to support the two charities with their operating costs and ensure the food can get to where it is most needed.

Jason Tarry, Tesco UK and Northern Ireland CEO, said: “Our customers have always amazed us with their generosity, this year more than ever. We know that household budgets are very stretched, but our customers have been incredible.

"We had people donating whole trollies of food at our recent Tesco Food Collection, and it is genuinely heart-warming to see so much kindness. The fact that we now have collection points in every store has made it easier than ever for customers to donate, and those donations are really needed.”

Tesco customers donated more than 2.4 million meals during the winter Food Collection at the beginning of December, with 28,783 of those meals coming from shoppers in Somerset.

In addition to the donations of food, the pre-Christmas Tesco Food Collection saw customers donate more than £382,000 to the charities by rounding up their bills at the till, donate £133,000 through a link from Tesco’s online groceries website and give more than £19,000 of Tesco Clubcard vouchers, which Tesco has matched.

Tesco also donates its unsold food to FareShare and, including those donations, more than 39 million meals have been provided by Tesco and its customers in the past year.

Gene Joyner, CEO at FareShare South West, said: “We want to say an enormous thank you to Tesco, and every single person that volunteered and donated across the year and at the Winter Food Collection- we had more than 2,000 amazing volunteers join us in stores this year.

“Our charities have told us how difficult things have become as a result of the cost-of-living crisis, with many expecting to see a huge increase in need as the weather gets even colder. The support we have seen from people at the collections and throughout 2022, in both time and donations, will help FareShare to continue getting much needed food to the people that need it most this winter.”

Emma Revie, Chief Executive at the Trussell Trust, said: “Food banks across the UK are facing their hardest winter yet as they struggle to cope with a tsunami of need caused by the cost-of- living emergency. On a daily basis food banks in our network are hearing from families up and down the country who are having to make impossible decisions between putting food on the table or turning on the heating – and too many people are being left with no option but to use a food bank because their money simply won’t stretch.

Thanks to the incredible generosity of Tesco customers, food banks across the Trussell Trust network can continue to provide emergency food and support to people facing hardship. Each and every donation made in Somerset will enable local food banks to provide immediate help to people in the community, while the Trussell Trust works in the long term to build a future without the need for food banks."

With both charities continuing to need support, Tesco shoppers can continue to make donations at permanent collection points at every Tesco store in the UK.