Eastbourne Foodbank welcomed hundreds of generous customers to its annual Summer Food Collection last weekend in Tesco stores across the town.
Representatives from the local foodbank were at the three biggest Tesco stores in Eastbourne on Friday and Saturday (July 1 and 2) to restock their warehouse with much-needed items.
Over the two days, an amazing 2,834.2kg was collected – which will provide three days of emergency food for 189 families. This year’s collection is more important than ever, as demand for foodbanks increases through the cost of living crisis.
Jess Holliday, campaigns and communications manager at Eastbourne Foodbank, said: “We are so incredibly grateful to Tesco and everyone who donated during our Summer Food Collection.
“It was amazing to see such generosity within our community and all those donations will be used to fight hunger in our town. Thank you.
“No one in Eastbourne should be facing hunger and we want to see an end to local people needing emergency food at all but the coming months are set to be particular tough for many local people.
“We are currently working to bring about long-term change to ensure everyone has enough money for the essentials. However, many families are really struggling with the rising cost of living and all the donations are invaluable at this incredibly difficult time.”
The Mayor of Eastbourne, Cllr Pat Rodohan, has chosen Eastbourne Foodbank as one of his charities for the year and attended the event at Lottbridge Drove on Friday.
He said: “I was delighted to see so many donations from Tesco shoppers to help feed local people who are struggling to cope due to the cost of living crisis.
“The work of Eastbourne Foodbank is crucial in supporting families and individuals who are suffering hardship through these difficult times, and I look forward to raising as much money as I can for this fantastic cause over the coming year.”
The collection, a national-wide initiative, has been organised by Tesco who will generously top up customers’ food donations with a financial donation of 20 per cent of the value of the items donated.
