Tesco launches Easter food donation scheme in Oxfordshire

The “Easter Holiday Helps” scheme, running between March 30 and April 12 across all large Tesco stores in Oxfordshire, aims to support families who rely on free school meals during term time but face additional food insecurity during the break.

The donation bags, priced between £2 and £5, contain long-life food and essentials and are easy for shoppers to pick up and purchase at the checkout.

All donations will go to food redistribution and support charities including FareShare & The Felix Project and The Trussell Trust, who will deliver the items to families and individuals experiencing food poverty.

Claire De Silva, head of communities at Tesco, said: “Holiday periods can be really tough for Oxfordshire families who miss out on their free school meal provision, meaning it’s hard to make sure kids get healthy, nutritious food.

“Our pre-packed donation bags will give a much-needed boost of food to FareShare & The Felix Project and Trussell and make a difference to the lives of children and their families, giving them vital support over the school holidays.”

Recent figures from The Trussell Trust reveal that demand for foodbanks remains 45 per cent higher than in 2019, with a parcel distributed every 12 seconds in 2025.

Nearly two-thirds (62 per cent) of those parcels went to households with children.

FareShare & The Felix Project have recently merged to become the UK’s leading food redistribution charity, providing good-to-eat surplus food to more than 8,000 charities and community groups – 83 per cent of which support families with children.

Tesco supports these charities year-round by redistributing unsold food from all its Oxfordshire stores through the Community Food Connection programme.

The public can also donate the value of their Clubcard vouchers to either FareShare & The Felix Project or Trussell online.

Matthew van Duyvenbode, co-CEO at Trussell, said: “Tesco’s Easter pre-packed donation bags are such a great way to make it easier for people to support children and families in their local communities.

“No-one should face hunger – these extra donations make all the difference to ensure more families can put food on their tables. Tesco has stepped up to help once again.

“Thank you so much to Tesco customers for playing your part.

“We are extremely grateful.”

While customers can donate any long-life food items, the charities are especially in need of tinned meat and fish, long-life fruit juice, cooking/pasta sauces, tinned vegetables, and tinned and dried soup.

Other useful donations include pasta, rice and noodles, cereal and porridge, tea and coffee, sponge/rice pudding, and UHT and powered milk.