Two charities providing vital food to people hit by the Covid-19 pandemic are appealing for people in Irvine to help support the UK’s biggest food collection this Christmas.
From Thursday, November 19, until Saturday, November 21, charities FareShare and the Trussell Trust will be collecting food in Tesco stores across the UK and Northern Ireland during the annual pre-Christmas Tesco Food Collection.
FareShare are looking for people to volunteer at donation points in the Irvine store whilst the Trussell Trust is looking for social media volunteers to share shopping lists on social media to encourage people to donate.
Leah Baillie, the Trussell Trust’s area manager for Irvine said: “A crisis can often bring out the best in people, and we have been overwhelmed by the support the UK has shown towards food banks in light of the coronavirus outbreak.
"As we look to the one of the busiest times of the year for food banks in our network, we would be so grateful if people can share shopping lists of their local food bank’s most-needed items on their social media to encourage friends and family to donate. Together we can make a difference and ensure that food banks are able to help people in crisis this winter.”
Scott Crawford, development manager at Fareshare said: “We know that many people have already fallen victim to the economic impact of the pandemic and thousands more are at risk of losing their jobs and livelihoods. We have seen a huge increase in people turning to their local grassroots community groups for support and demand for food is more than double pre-pandemic levels.
“We would be hugely grateful to anyone who is able to volunteer this year to encourage more shoppers to donate much needed ambient food to those who need it most.”
During the collection Irvine customers will be encouraged to donate long-life food to help food banks and community groups support people this Christmas. Tesco will top up customer donations by 20 per cent in cash to aid the two charities in their work.
Last year, three million meals were collected as part of the Tesco Food Collection, and since its launch in 2012, more than 76 million meals have been donated to the two charities by generous Tesco customers.
Volunteers will need to adhere to the Covid-19 rules in place in the store and locally when they participate. People interested in volunteering can find out more and sign up at https://fareshare.org.uk/foodcollection
