Supermarket link ensures it’s food for all
FOCUS4HOPE CELEBRATES CONNECTION WITH TESCO
A COMMUNITY group received a boost to support locals in need over Christmas, thanks to donations from Tesco.
Focus4Hope, a community group in Brighouse which provides assistance to people who need it most, use the donations to further support its work with the elderly, homeless and isolated individuals across West Yorkshire.
The support was made possible because the community group has taken part in Tesco’s Community Food Connection, in partnership with FareShare.
Louise Reed, founder of Focus4Hope, said: “The food donations through Tesco’s Community Food Connection scheme are valuable in our quest to have a positive impact on all those in need within our local community.
“We support around 80 people a week, with the majority of our beneficiaries being vulnerable families and the homeless.
“Through Tesco’s donations we now offer a greater variety of meals, with fresh fruit, vegetables and bread supplementing our current offering.
“We prepare a whole range of nutritious, hearty food parcels and cooked meals every week to enrich diets.
“If we have surplus items at the end of the week we take these to the local foodbank so they can be put to good use, ensuring absolutely nothing goes to waste.
“We work alongside an elderly retired couple, who were chefs at Leeds General Infirmary, to draw up the menus with the week’s donations we have so that we get the most out of what we receive.
“It’s important to keep our community together and it gives John and June the opportunity to keep busy and continue to support those in need in their own unique way.”
Louise added: “In
December we hosted a Christmas meal at St John’s Divine Church, Brighouse, serving 80 elderly and isolated people from across the area.
“It was a wonderful event and our guests got to meet new similar likeminded people and make new friends to help combat loneliness.
“It was fantastic to see so much Christmas spirit across the group!”
Tesco’s Community Food Connection has donated surplus food to more than 7,000 charities and community groups.
The scheme pairs Tesco stores with charities and community groups by using a mobile app to alert them about available unsold surplus food items.
This food is then collected by charities and supplied to people in need, ensuring that no good food goes to waste.
Nicola MacKay, community food programmes manager for Tesco, said: “We are proud to work with Focus4Hope, whose dedication to the community is amazing.
“They have already helped so many people, and we are so pleased to be working with them to assist even more people in need.”
FareShare chief executive Lindsay Boswell, said: “The food that Tesco donates makes a really big difference to local charities and communities across the UK.
“We are proud to have been able to work with Tesco over the past four years to create this pioneering scheme, which is the biggest of its kind in the UK.
“We hope that by celebrating this milestone with Tesco colleagues and customers, we can reach out to even more charities and community groups so that they can receive the free surplus food that Tesco is able to offer.”
Tesco is keen to hear from any charities that could benefit from this programme.
Interested groups can get in touch with their local store or visit www.fareshare.org.uk/faresharego to register.