Almost one in ten people in the South West have skipped meals, gone without food to feed their family or relied on family or friends for food in the last year according to new research published this week.
The research comes as Tesco launched the biggest ever food collection appeal in the UK, with the help of food charity FareShare and Foodbanks charity the Trussell Trust.
Help Feed People In Need took place at Tesco stores across the South West on December 1st and 2nd and will help provide much needed food for thousands of local people this Christmas.
The research found that in total, around 10 per cent of people in the South West have suffered from some form of food poverty in the last 12 months, with 5 per cent of people skipping meals and 4 per cent relying on friends or family to provide food.
Significant numbers of parents had also gone without food to feed their children.
The research also found that in the last year, 20 per cent of people in the region had changed their eating habits, buying less expensive food or reducing the amount they eat.
Joy Fraser, co-ordinator of the local Somer Valley Foodbank, said; “Many people have been helped by Foodbanks across the country as more people struggle to make ends meet in the current economic climate. This Christmas will be tough for many local people so we are delighted to be part of Tesco’s ‘Help Feed People in Need’ appeal. We’re hoping that many local people will donate at a Tesco store to help stop people going hungry in the Somer Valley this Christmas.”
Philip Clarke, Chief Executive of Tesco said: “Tesco feeds more families in the UK than any other supermarket, and we work hard to make sure people can eat well even if they don’t have a lot of money. This Christmas, we want to use our scale and our links with communities across the country to help tackle this growing problem.
“We recently held some local food collections and were overwhelmed by the support from our customers, who have shown incredible generosity. I hope they’ll support the biggest ever food collection in the UK and help us to feed hundreds of thousands of people in need.”
Thousands of Tesco staff members, together with FareShare and Trussell Trust volunteers and Tesco Retired Staff Association members were on hand to help customers who were given special shopping lists to encourage them to buy everyday food items like cereals, rice, instant coffee, tinned food and sauces.
Tesco topped up total donations by 30 per cent and will also be providing funding to both organisations to help them build on the vital work they do helping people in communities across the country.
As part of Tesco’s commitment to helping families and individuals in need, the retailer plans to run further food collections in partnership with FareShare and Trussell Trust in the coming months to help provide people with food.
