Help beat hunger with Christmas neighbourhood food collection

They need helpers for the collection taking place at the Crawley Hazelwick Extra store from Thursday December 1 to Saturday December 3.

Volunteers will spread Christmas cheer as they encourage shoppers to donate one or two long-life items such as packets of pasta, boxes of breakfast cereal, and tins of tomatoes.

FareShare will redistribute the donated food to local charities including homeless shelters, children’s breakfast clubs, women’s refuges, and older people’s lunch clubs, alongside a wide range of fresh produce that it receives from the food and drink industry.

Marion Sheehan, project manager at FareShare Sussex, says: “You don’t need any special skills or superpowers to be a hero against hunger this Christmas, you just need to stand in your local supermarket for a few hours, chat to shoppers and encourage them to give a little something if they can.

“In just three hours, you could collect enough tins, cans and packets to provide 500 meals for people in need, so it’s a quick and easy way to make a practical difference, and it can be a lot of fun too, especially if you round up your friends, family, colleagues, neighbours, members of your book group… the more the merrier!”

During the last Neighbourhood Food Collection, held in July, Tesco shoppers donated enough food to provide 2.8 million meals for hungry and vulnerable people across the UK.

People interested in volunteering for the event can sign up either as an individual or as a team at www.fareshare.org.uk/heroes-against-hunger