Tesco helping foodbank support people in crisis

The food bank went into the Covid-19 crisis with good stock levels, as local people had been particularly generous over Christmas, but the need for extra food quickly became clear as the pandemic sparked greater need from the community than ever before.

With almost 90% of Foyle Foodbank’s stock coming from donations in local supermarkets, the increase in donations from Tesco are proving vital to the food bank’s work.

“Tesco’s food donations have helped us greatly, as they are sending essential items that we would run short of most of the year,” said the food bank’s manager James McMenamin.

“In the past two months, 200 families a month have been using our services, so these extra donations ensure we can distribute as many essential food packages as possible to the most vulnerable in our community.”

Since January 1, the food bank’s local Tesco Superstore at Quayside Shopping Centre has donated more than 800kg of food donations. However, Tesco’s increased food donations as a response to the pandemic has seen more than a tonne of extra food delivered to the food bank in the past three weeks alone, with more deliveries to come.

The current pandemic has led to changes being made across the food bank’s services, with new measures in place to protect volunteers and people needing support. To comply with social distancing guidelines, the food bank now only offers pre-packed food parcels, which are delivered to recipients waiting in their cars outside of the food bank.

The organisation is now closed on Wednesdays to give volunteers more time to replenish stock and pack parcels and help ensure the smooth running of the important service.