Haverhill Foodbank able to feed more people at Christmas thanks to generous Tesco shoppers

A near record amount of food – enough to feed nearly 100 families over the festive period – has been donated to Haverhill Foodbank over one weekend.

The food was donated by shoppers at Tesco, in Haverhill, between last Thursday and Sunday.

It was the 10th annual Neighbourhood Food Collection, held each year thanks to a partnership between the retail giant, the Trussell Trust and Fareshare.

The food collected at the store has been delivered to the Haverhill Foodbank, run by REACH Community Projects (whose staff were at the stores throughout the collection period), for distribution to needy families and individuals.

Henry Wilson, REACH CEO, said: “This near record amount of food represents amazing generosity, especially in the face of the current cost of living crisis and our heartfelt thanks goes out to all those who gave.”

In addition to the food collected at Tesco store, the company also donates a sum of money in proportion to the weight of food collected and this year is likely to see this cash contribution amount to about £1,000.

Henry added: “We also want to send our most sincere thanks to Tesco for enabling this to happen.

“To be precise, the weight of food has, in the three days, first to third of December, amounted to 2,197.9 kilograms and we know absolutely that this will have a huge impact on our ability to feed those suffering hardship and especially as the winter starts to bite in the run up to Christmas and beyond.

“This amounts to near on 90 family food boxes, which is fantastic, especially as we are feeding more families than ever before.

“REACH is also very grateful indeed to the Trussell Trust for entering into this incredible relationship with Tesco and we are very pleased to be a part of the Trussell Trust campaign in this region.”

REACH Community Projects has bases in both Haverhill and Newmarket and provides support in terms of welfare assistance, debt counselling, benefit applications, utility supplementation and food to families and individuals experiencing financial hardship throughout West Suffolk, North Essex and South Cambridgeshire.

REACH can be contacted on 01440 712950 or by email at: info@reachhaverhill.org.uk