Tesco customers have enabled the donation of more than three million meals as part of the retailer's Buy One to Help A Child campaign that seeks to help children facing food insecurity.
Over the past three weeks, the retailer has given a donation to its partner FareShare for every piece of fruit and vegetable sold across its stores for redistribution to children’s charities.
Buy One To Help A Child Campaign
Sales of various products such as strawberries, bananas, and cucumbers at Tesco stores helped the retailer donate food to over 5,000 charities across the country to help the 2.3 million children living in food insecurity.
A warm summer saw bumper purchases of fruit and vegetables, allowing Tesco to exceed its target of providing three million meals through charities and community groups supported by FareShare.
According to the retailer's data, outside of Greater London, Essex shoppers topped the table for purchases of fresh fruit and vegetables, followed by shoppers in Hertfordshire, Kent, and Greater Manchester.
On average, cucumbers were the most popular item sold on a Monday throughout the collection phase, with strawberries winning in popularity on Tuesday and Wednesdays.
Jason Tarry, Tesco UK and ROI CEO, said, "We wanted to find a really simple way to do our bit and help our customers do the same, and we are delighted at the success of the Buy One to Help A Child scheme.
"By encouraging healthier choices for our customers while helping to feed children through our partnership with FareShare we can play our part in supporting stronger communities."
FareShare
Tesco has been working with FareShare since 2016, and to date has redistributed more than 120 million meals of food to charities and community groups across the UK.
FareShare supports frontline charities and community groups working with children, from summer holiday clubs and breakfast clubs to community kitchens, and groups that supply food parcels to those facing food insecurity.
FareShare CEO Lindsay Boswell CBE said the food would make a "real difference" to frontline charities working with children, and thanked Tesco customers for their support.
"During the summer months, many families can struggle without the safety net of free school meals," Lindsay said.
"At FareShare, we work with a network of around 10,500 charities and community groups supporting children and families across the UK. With so many more people facing tough circumstances as a result of the pandemic, this food is needed more than ever."
‘Buy One to Help a Child’ is the latest in a number of Tesco community-focussed programmes which are helping to build stronger communities across the UK.
Tesco is also a member of the Child Poverty Task Force, formed by Marcus Rashford, and continues to support his campaign for free school meals for every child that needs them.
© 2021 European Supermarket Magazine. Article by Conor Farrelly. For more Retail news, click here. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
