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Call for volunteers in Thurso and Wick for Tesco Christmas food collection





Volunteers will be doing their bit to help charities FareShare and the Trussell Trust during the Tesco Food Collection next month.
Volunteers will be doing their bit to help charities FareShare and the Trussell Trust during the Tesco Food Collection next month.

Two charities providing food to people hit by the Covid-19 pandemic are appealing for people in Caithness to help support the UK’s biggest food collection this Christmas.

From November 19-21 charities FareShare and the Trussell Trust will be collecting food in Tesco stores across the UK – including those at Thurso and Wick – as part of the annual pre-Christmas Tesco Food Collection.

FareShare is looking for people to volunteer at donation points in stores, while the Trussell Trust is appealing for volunteers to share shopping lists on social media to encourage people to donate.

During the collection, customers are encouraged to donate long-life food to help food banks and community groups support people this festive season. Tesco will top up customer donations by 20 per cent in cash to aid the two charities.

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 customers.

Food banks in the Trussell Trust’s network are expecting to give out six emergency food parcels every minute this winter.

Katy Kitchingham, the Trussell Trust’s area manager, 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 banks’ 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.”

FareShare has tripled the amount of food it has been providing since the start of the pandemic and will be supplying food to 11,000 frontline charities and community groups supporting people this winter.

Lindsay Boswell, FareShare’s chief executive, 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 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.”

Ambient foods are those that can be stored safely at room temperature in sealed containers.

Volunteers will need to adhere to the Covid-19 rules in place when they participate. People interested in volunteering can find out more and sign up at https://fareshare.org.uk/foodcollection


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