Volunteers are needed at Tesco stores in Gloucester to encourage people to donate food towards two leading charities this summer.

FareShare and the Trussell Trust are collecting long-life food in Tesco's large Gloucester stores from 15th -17th July. It's part of a special food collection to support children and families during the summer holidays.

Food donated by Tesco customers supports food banks and holiday clubs which provide meals and activities to youngsters outside of term-time.

Tesco will top up customer donations made in store by 20% in cash to promote the work of the two charities.

Gloucester volunteers are needed to encourage shoppers to leave their donations in the collection point at the front of stores. Shoppers are more likely to donate if volunteers are present. They will also spread awareness of the collection through social media. The appeal for volunteers comes ahead of Volunteers Week, which celebrates the work of volunteers in the UK.

Julian Mines, CEO at FareShare South West, said: "More people than ever are struggling to put food on the table and will do for months if not years to come as the economy recovers. We have seen a huge increase in people turning to their local grassroots community groups for support and demand for food remains high.

"We would be incredibly grateful to anyone who is able to volunteer just two hours of their time this year to encourage more shoppers to donate much needed long-life food to those who need it most."

Emma Revie, chief executive of the Trussell Trust, said: "We're seeing more people than ever struggling in extreme poverty and pushed to the doors of food banks because they do not have enough money to survive.

"This summer, we would be so grateful if people can share shopping lists of their local food bank's most-needed items on their social media, support the Tesco Summer Food Collection when they are next in store, and encourage friends and family to donate. Together we can make a difference and work towards building a hunger free future."

The summer collection is in addition to the pre-Christmas Tesco Food Collection, which takes place annually at the end of November. It is the second year running that Tesco has run a summer Food Collection; following on from a special collection held last summer as the charities were faced with a rise in need caused by Covid-19.