Peterborough charity partners with Tesco to give food to vulnerable people

Vulnerable people in Northamptonshire, Huntingdonshire, and Cambridgeshire are receiving free food from Tesco stores thanks to the tireless work of 3 Pillars. The charity collects surplus food from Tesco and makes it available to people in Northamptonshire, Huntingdonshire, and Cambridgeshire, ensuring that families don’t go without. 3 Pillars, which is run by local Freemasons and volunteers, receives food as part of the Community Food Connection surplus food scheme, which involves local Tesco stores and food surplus redistribution charity FareShare. Ged Dempsey, Co-Founder at 3 Pillars, said: “We are extremely grateful to Tesco and Fareshare for providing us with these essential foods, collected by members of our charity. “Each week, we feed around 100 people in Northampton and 200 in Peterborough twice a week, and a further 280 people in St Neots and 25 in Rushden weekly. Including our other regions, we feed around 790 people per week with a team of 45 volunteers. “The regular provisions and support provided by Tesco and Fareshare go a long way in allowing us to keep costs down and keep our food at a high quality.” The Community Food Connection scheme ensures that surplus food from Tesco is given to charities and community groups, whose volunteer members then distribute it to the public. Across the UK it redistributes 2 million meals each month. Claire De Silva, Tesco Head of Community, said: “Working with community groups such as 3 Pillars to help them get the food they need is such an important service for us to be able to provide. The dedication they have to their community is amazing, and we are pleased to do what we can to support them. “We firmly believe no good food should go to waste, which is why we began our Community Food Connection scheme. It enables us to ensure our surplus food is put to good use in communities.” FareShare is the UK’s biggest charity fighting hunger and food waste. Two-thirds of the organisations it provides food to support children and families. Katie Sadler, Head of FareShare Go, said: “The food that Tesco redistributes through FareShare makes a huge difference to people facing food insecurity across the UK. “We work with thousands of charities and community groups providing essential support to their communities, and receiving a steady stream of food helps them to feed the people who need it most.” Charities and community groups that could benefit from the support of the Community Food Connection scheme can find further information at fareshare.org.uk/getting-food.