Tesco to run pop up ‘reverse supermarket’ with food bank partners
Melanie May | 21 November 2022 | News
Tesco and charity partners FareShare and the Trussell Trust are running a three-day ‘reverse suppermarket’ this month. The Give Back Express lets shoppers pay for essential items, which will then be donated to food banks.
The venture takes place during the 10th anniversary year of Tesco’s partnership with the two charities.
From this Friday 25 November to Sunday 27 November, visitors to the store on London’s Poland Street will be able to shop the range of tinned foods, teas, toiletries and pre-packaged donations. At the end of the three days, Tesco will match the total amount of money donated, and for those who just want to give quickly, there will be a QR code outside the shop where people can donate their Clubcard vouchers. These will then be converted into a financial donation.
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Figures released by the Trussell Trust earlier this month revealed that 1.3mn emergency food parcels were provided to people between April and September this year by food banks in its UK network – a third more than were provided during the same period in 2021 and an increase of more than 50% compared to pre-pandemic levels.
In a recent FareShare survey of the 9,500 charities that it supports, over 90% said demand for their services has increased since January due to the cost-of-living crisis. Charities have also told it that the influx is coming from people who are accessing support for the first time (73%) despite being fully employed (51%).
Tesco Food Collection back next month
Further supporting its food bank partners, the Tesco Food Collection will once again take place in all Tesco stores from 1-3 December. During the collection Tesco customers will be encouraged to donate long-life food to support FareShare and the Trussell Trust. Donations for the Trussell Trust will help its network of food banks provide emergency food parcels to people in crisis, while donations to FareShare will support its food deliveries to thousands of frontline charities. Tesco will once again top up the customer donations by 20% in cash.
Commenting on the Tesco Food Collection last month, Lindsay Boswell, Chief Executive at FareShare said:
“The cost-of-living crisis is forcing more and more people to turn to their local charities for support with food and other services, meaning the demand for FareShare food has skyrocketed.
“The Tesco Food Collection is a vital event for FareShare, helping to bring in much needed long-life food that will help us continue our support of the people most in need this winter.”
About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.