Generous customers helped to donate an incredible 3.5 million meals during Tesco's national Food Collection appeal on the 5 and 6 July, the equivalent of 26,000 trolley-loads of food.
Tesco held the appeal in partnership with Foodbanks charity, the Trussell Trust and food redistribution charity, FareShare in every one of its stores across the UK after new research showed nearly one in five people had suffered from some form of food poverty in the last twelve months.
With school summer holidays approaching, the research also showed parents found the holidays a particularly difficult time to provide food for their children with as many as 70% of families currently suffering from food poverty relying on food given out by schools.
During the collection, customers were asked to donate non-perishable food items such as long-life milk, cereals and tinned vegetables and fruit. The food, weighing in at 1,500 tonnes, will now be transported to regional FareShare depots and local foodbanks across the country to help people in times of crisis.
The total amount collected includes Tesco's 30% top up and collections in Tesco's dedicated online grocery delivery centres. Tesco plans to introduce permanent collection points in some of its stores before its next national collection in December.
Tesco customers at the Park Road Extra store in Liverpool proved to be the most generous in the UK, donating the equivalent of nearly 21,000 meals, including Tesco's 30% top up, to people in need.
Customers at the Grahams Road store in Falkirk donated a fantastic 10,000 meals to become the most generous customers in Scotland, while the Pontypridd Extra in Wales collected more than 6,200 meals.
In Northern Ireland, the Bentrim Road store in Lisburn collected an impressive 6,600 meals for people in need.