TESCO is making it easier than ever for shoppers in Powys to lend a helping hand to food banks and charities feeding people in their local community.

The Tesco Food Collection is taking place in every large Tesco store across the UK from Thursday, June 30, until Saturday, July 2, and shoppers are being urged to donate long-life food to support local food banks in the Trussell Trust’s network and thousands of frontline charities supplied by FareShare. Tesco will top up all food donations made during the collection with an extra 20 per cent cash donation to support the two charities.

To make it even easier for customers to donate, shoppers can now round up their bill at the checkout to make a small donation to both charities, and pre-filled donation bags with some of the items that are most-needed will be available in selected stores.

Tesco head of community Claire de Silva said: “This collection marks 10 years of us working with the Trussell Trust and FareShare.

“During that decade our customers have been amazingly generous, donating more than 100 million meals during our food collections and at permanent collection points in Tesco stores, but we wanted to make it even easier for customers in Wales to donate this summer as we know that every can donated really does help.”

The only store in Powys operating the ready-prepared donation bag scheme is the Llandrindod Wells branch. Other large stores in Newtown and Welshpool will be running the food collection scheme as normal.

Donations are more important than ever as the charities have reported increasing need for food. Sarah Germain, CEO at FareShare Cymru, said: “Our charities are telling us that the need for food has vastly increased as a result of the cost-of-living crisis, and over the last year we’ve continued to deliver four meals every second to people facing food insecurity across the UK.

“That’s why we would be immensely grateful to anyone who is able to donate a bag of pasta or tin of vegetables over the Tesco Food Collection weekend. Your generous donations will help us continue providing vital support to families struggling to cope this summer.”

Danni Malone, Director at the Trussell Trust, added: “Every year, we are amazed by the generosity of Tesco customers who donate to the food collection.

“We know that many families on the very lowest incomes have been forced to the doors of food banks to get by, as the nation faces a rapid rise in the cost of living and continues to recover from the devastating effects of the pandemic. So, once again, we are calling on shoppers to give generously and make a difference to people who need our support over the coming weeks and months.”