York Food Bank given vital top-up by local supermarket
It's thanks to a Click & Collect food donation operation.
York Food Bank has been given a vital food donation top-up - thanks to its local Tesco’s new Click & Collect food donation operation.
The food bank has distributed over 1,500 food parcels since April.
The Tesco Extra on Tadcaster Road has set up a new service where Click & Collect customers can order additional items they’d like to donate - which are then placed in the in-store donation point by staff.
Caroline Macdonald, Community Champion at the store, came up with the idea during the first lockdown when the demand on food banks was at a crucial level.
She said: “During the first lockdown, we had a number of customers ask how they could help support our food donation service. They knew that there was an ever-increasing demand on food banks, but many of our regular customers weren’t able to shop in store and donate as frequently as they would have done in the past.
“So, on 21st July, we launched our Click & Collect food donation service. Customers simply add items onto their shop, and when they pick up they can point these goods to staff who will then place them in the C&C food bin. The C&C bin is then transferred to the larger in-store donation point at the end of the day.”
The primary in-store food donation point is managed by The Trussell Trust, who support food banks across the UK.
Adam Raffell, Manager of York Food Bank, says the new idea has provided a much needed boost to the organisation:
He said: “We are hugely grateful for the support we have received from the local Tesco, facilitated by their Community Champion, Caroline Macdonald.
“The innovative Click & Collect foodbank idea from Caroline has provided much needed additional items to the store’s food donations, particularly during a difficult time in lockdown when people have been limiting their time in store and their exposure to others.
“Since April, we have distributed just over 1500 food packages to over 4000 people in York, and this year is projecting to be the busiest one to date. These additional food items from the Click & Collect initiative, as well as the items provided by shoppers in store, has been crucial to our operations.”