Veg box scheme in Potton gets boost from Tesco to help provide more than 14k meals for struggling families

A veg box scheme that helps feed struggling families has received a boost from Tesco.

The Veg Box Donation Scheme has received the equivalent of 14,683 worth of meals from Tesco, which will help Bedfordshire people facing financial hardship.

The Potton scheme, which provides fresh and healthy vegetable boxes to people in financial need, was set up during Covid and has seen a significant increase in demand due to the cost-of-living crisis affecting more households. From June to November last year, it delivered 315 vegetable boxes in Biggleswade alone, helping 942 people.

Local foodbanks, schools, charities and welfare agencies reach out to the charity with referrals and then a team of volunteers build each vegetable box with produce supplied from the likes of Tesco and other providers.

Alongside its referral program, the Veg Box Donation Scheme works closely with foodbanks to offer a healthy and refreshing addition of fresh produce to the tinned items often provided by traditional foodbanks.

The vegetable boxes are available to anyone referred in financial need, including single-parent families, couples and singles, as well as households where a member of the family is a carer due to ill-health or disabilities. Each box contains fresh fruit, vegetables, herbs and eggs.

Eileen, a volunteer who packs and delivers veg boxes for the scheme, said: “We know the food from Tesco is vital to our customers and we want to thank them for their generosity.

“One customer in particular springs to mind who said that the produce supplied in their veg box would provide the family with food on the table for the next three days and, as there simply was no money coming in, it was a real life-saver.

“In the current economic situation, the support from our local Tesco team is overwhelming and provides a much-needed reassurance that the help is there.”

The Community Food Connection scheme ensures surplus food from Tesco is redistributed to charities and community groups, whose volunteer members then distribute it to the public.

Claire De Silva, Tesco head of communities and local media, said: “Working with community groups such as the Veg Box Donation Scheme 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.

“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.

Lindsay Boswell, FareShare chief executive, 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.”

By redistributing the surplus food to help communities, FareShare is also aiding the environment by ensuring that the food does not end up as landfill.