Food donation bags are set to be sold in 300 Tesco stores across the UK in a bid to support food banks as they try to meet the increased demand.

The small donation bags have been pre-filled with items “most needed” by food banks. They will be available to pick up by customers as they enter the store, something the supermarket giant says will make it “quick and easy for shoppers to give a helping hand to food banks and charities feeding people in their local communities this summer”.

Inside the bags includes items such as pasta, pulses and pasta sauce and Tesco has said that they will typically cost around £3.50.

Tesco has claimed that in 2022 the total amount of food donated by Tesco shoppers to the Trussell Trust and FareShare was the equivalent of 12.5 million meals.

New Food recently reported on the results of a Food Standards Agency (FSA) and You 2 survey which revealed that food insecurity had reached 25 percent in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. With this in mind, more people could be turning to food banks to obtain essential items, suggesting food donation bags could prove helpful in increasing the amount of donations being made.

“We’re really proud of our partnerships with FareShare and the Trussell Trust and we want to continue to find ways to help them. With more people using food banks we wanted make donating as easy as possible for customers that want to support their local community. The donation bags will be available throughout the summer holidays so it allows a real focus on families and children who need support,” said Claire de Silva, Tesco Head of Community.

“Donations are more important than ever as the charities have reported an increasing need demand for food.”

The donation bags will be available in stores from Monday July 24 until Sunday September 3 and will exist alongside every Tesco store’s permanent collection point wher customers can donate long life food items all year round.

In addition to this, during the summer months, Tesco has said that customers will be able to round up their bill to the nearest pound at the checkout, a move that it says will make it “even easier to offer financial support”. This initiative will be available from 24th July to 6th August and 28th August to 3rd September.

“The need for FareShare food has been rising rapidly as a result of the cost of living crisis, and will continue to do so throughout the summer holidays when more families rely on these vital local services to feed themselves and their loved ones,” said Polly Hoffman, Head of Retail at FareShare.

“At a time when millions of people are going hungry across the UK, the donations we receive from generous Tesco customers is absolutely vital for the charities and community groups we provide food to. That’s why we’re thrilled that Tesco is making it even easier for people to support FareShare by introducing donation bags in store this summer,” continued Hoffman.

Also commenting on the initiative, Emma Revie, CEO of the Trussell Trust, said: “We are extremely grateful to Tesco for once again providing innovative new ways for their customers to support our network of more than 1,300 food bank centres.

“The generosity of Tesco and its customers plays a vital role in ensuring that food banks can continue to support people who cannot afford the essentials, as we continue working towards our vision of ending the need for food banks,” concluded Revie.