More than 20,000 meals have been made available in Ellesmere Port through a surplus food scheme.
Tesco’s food surplus redistribution initiative, called Community Food Connection, says it has now served up 22,651 meals in the town and 10m meals nationally, helping more than 5,000 charities and community groups across the country.
The work is described as ‘a key part’ of Tesco’s target to ensure no food safe for human consumption will go to waste by the end of this year.
Charities benefitting from the scheme include homeless hostels, breakfast clubs for disadvantaged children, domestic violence refuges and lunch clubs for older people with the Port Grocery community food club in Trinity church among those to benefit in Ellesmere Port.
Launched in February 2016 the initiative is said to play a key role in helping charities feed people and in doing so enabling the money saved to be invested back into services in communities across the whole of the UK.
The scheme, run in partnership with food redistribution charity FareShare, enables Tesco stores to donate unsold food to feed people in need through an app developed by social enterprise FoodCloud.
The app lets local charities know there is surplus food available at the end of each day which community groups can then collect and use to provide nutritious meals to vulnerable people.
Working with FareShare, Tesco says colleagues in Ellesmere Port, including the Sutton Arms express store, have helped enlist local charities to join the initiative.
Mark Thomas, regional communications manager at Tesco, said: “It’s great to see the difference Community Food Connection is making by providing people in need with meals from food that would otherwise go to waste.
“We know that it frees up time and resources so that the charities using it can focus on offering other services. Our colleagues are playing an important role, too.
“Together with FareShare they’re helping to make sure local charities across the UK have access to surplus food from our stores.”
Lindsay Boswell, chief executive of FareShare, said: “Reaching 10m meals through our network of 5,000 charities and community groups is a phenomenal achievement. There’s no reason for good quality, in-date food from stores to be thrown away when it could go to a charity who needs it.”
Charities or groups who feel they could benefit from the scheme can visit www.fareshare.org.uk/fareshare-foodcloud to register.
