Asda has launched a national food drive asking customers to donate food and essential toiletries in-store to help people who need to use food banks in their local communities. The event will take place in its 390 superstores until June 7 with Community Champions in store, alongside volunteers from food banks in the Trussell Trust network, encouraging customers to donate an extra item or two to support food banks in the local community.
Some stores will be joined by the local charities who will have stalls and information about their community project as well as a donation bucket. There will also be message boards and information by products signposting customers to which items are needed the most.
Asda has had customer collection food trolleys since 2018 and in that time its customers have donated the equivalent of over twelve million meals.
During last year’s food drive, generous Asda customers donated more than ever, with the equivalent of over 193,000 additional meals being generated. This year, Asda has extended the drive from two days to a week, to provide customers more opportunity to donate.
In the last year, Asda has also donated over £500,000 in top up donations to support food banks in the Trussell Trust’s network. This donation helps to provide the best possible support to people on the lowest incomes by funding training, grants and direct support for food banks across the Trussell Trust’s network.
Asda Better Starts Manager, Ashlee Couldwell, said: “With people struggling to afford things that we all need, food banks are playing a more important role than ever. These donations are crucial to supporting the local community and we are hoping this food drive encourages a positive increase in donations. I am so thankful for the donations made by our customers and I’m always so proud that they wish to help the people in their communities who need the most support.”
The Trussell Trust’s Interim Head of Corporate Partnerships, Zoe Pate, said: “Over the past 12 months the food banks in our network have provided a record number of food parcels to people facing hardship. Almost 3 million food parcels were given out during this time- more than ever before. While we work to build a future where everyone has enough money for the things we all need, we are grateful to Asda for holding their annual food drive. The weeklong food drive will help the food banks in our network to provide vital support to people locked in poverty and help to make a real difference to local communities across the UK.”
