Covid-19: Tesco to provide £30m package to support local communities

Tesco has announced plans to provide a £30m package of support for local communities tackling Covid-19, including a £25m food donations programme.

The ‘Big Four’ grocer is currently donating £3m of food every month through its Community Food Connection scheme and distribution centres.

In addition to that, over the next 12 weeks Tesco said it will provide a top up food donation of £15m of food (ambient and fresh) to FareShare and the Trussell Trust. The retailer will also donate £1m between the two organisations to support their continuing operations.

On top of that, Tesco will focus £2m of funding from its existing Bags of Help community donation scheme to charities that are helping the “most vulnerable”.

Tesco said stores throughout the UK also have access to more than £1m of funding and can “support causes” in local areas.

Tesco Group CEO, Dave Lewis, said: “Our stores are at the heart of the communities we serve and as well as supporting our customers and colleagues, we want to help those who need it most, locally.

“We will significantly boost our food donations programme, to ensure food banks and community groups have the supplies they need; whilst giving extra resources to the British Red Cross and focus our Bags of Help scheme to deliver more community support where it’s most needed at this difficult time.”

Lindsay Boswell, chief executive of FareShare, added: “As the coronavirus crisis continues, we are very thankful to our longstanding partner, Tesco for their generous support. We know that many of the frontline charities we work with are continuing to provide vital support in their communities, and so the combination of funding and unprecedented food donations from Tesco will allow us to ensure they have a consistent supply of food during this difficult time.”