Sainsbury’s Forest Hill colleagues are encouraging residents to help tackle food poverty this October by taking part in a nationwide food-drive run by Sainsbury’s and FareShare, the national charity tackling hunger across the UK. The second annual Million Meal Appeal takes place on Saturday 6th and Sunday 7th October and will benefit more than 700 charities and projects across the UK.

Last year’s ‘Million Meal Appeal’, which took place on Saturday 26th November, was a huge success and involved 600 Sainsbury’s stores including Forest Hill. Thanks to customers’ generosity, together with Sainsbury’s pledge to match donations, FareShare could deliver food for over 1.2 million meals to 700 charities and community projects it supports.

This year’s appeal will see over 900 stores involved in the two-day food-drive to help 720 charities and community projects which FareShare supports. Customers will again be able to choose to donate an item from the Million Meal Appeal shopping list which consists of long-life products including tinned goods, dried pasta, pasta sauce, rice, tea and instant coffee. The items are purchased as normal and then placed in the collection box after checkout. Customers shopping on Sainsbury’s Online can also choose to make a £1 donation between 3rd and 9th October.
Sainsbury’s Community Affairs Manager Andy White said: “We had such an overwhelming response from our customers to last year’s initiative and we’re excited to be working with FareShare on the second ‘Million Meal Appeal’. The total of 1.2 million meals donated in 2011 would be enough to feed a sold-out London Olympic stadium 15 times! We hope from this year’s campaign that we can further raise the awareness of food poverty in the UK and support those charities and projects that need our help”.

Assisting in the food drive will be local volunteers who are currently being recruited by FareShare. Potential volunteers are encouraged to visit http://www.fareshare.org.uk with their family and friends to register. Participants will be able to choose their preferred Sainsbury’s store to volunteer at and have the choice of a morning or afternoon shift.

Lindsay Boswell, CEO, FareShare, added: “The Million Meal Appeal has come at a crucial time. Around 5.8 million people live in deep poverty in the UK, meaning they struggle to afford everyday essentials like food. I hope many Sainsbury’s Forest Hill customers can support the Appeal and help us to provide even more food to the charities and community projects we support across the country”.

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Notes to Editors

• Sainsbury’s has been working with FareShare since 1994 and is still one of its biggest partners today. Its ongoing partnership with FareShare is part of its wider blueprint of reducing food waste and putting it to more positive use in environmentally sustainable ways. It has also played a key role in enabling Sainsbury’s to become one of the first major retailers to divert all food waste from landfill in 2011.

• FareShare is a national charity fighting hunger and food waste in the UK. It does this by rescuing good quality surplus food that would otherwise go to waste and sending it to over 700 charities and community projects across the country for people in need.
• Last year FareShare rescued 3,600 tonnes of surplus food, contributing towards more than 8.6 million meals, feeding 36,500 people a day
• There are currently 17 FareShare operations across the UK, with an 18th under development in Glasgow
• The charity also provides training and education around the essential life skills of safe food preparation and nutrition, and warehouse employability training through FareShare’s Eat Well Live Well programme.
• Sainsbury’s has been working with FareShare since 1994
• Last year’s Million Meal Appeal was recognised at the Business Charity Awards in May and won the award for best ‘Single Cause’ campaign
• FareShare is a winner of ‘Britain’s Most Admired Charity’ (2010) awarded by The Third Sector and also recognised as one of the top 100 NGOs worldwide
• Sainsbury’s stores are at the very heart of the communities they serve. It is not only important to provide great service and quality products, it’s also vital to make a positive difference to communities and to be a good neighbour.
• This begins with the positive economic impact Sainsbury’s stores have in generating local wealth, by providing employment, using local suppliers and contractors, and regenerating local surroundings.

Why doesn't Sainsbury give food to the poor themselves? They are a multi million pound company, why do they need us? The back of their stores is full of by date goods thrown away unnecessary. Why don't they use the Brand Match difference cost (overcharges, compared to other supermarkets) as donation for this appeal, instead of giving useless pieces of paper, which get often lost and never used?

the fareshare intention seems good, but I don't see how a one off donation of a few tins of beans will do anything to tackle food poverty.

Wouldn't Sainsbury's (and all the others) do more to releive food poverty if they put as much time and trouble into promoting cheap healthy basic ingredients as they put into promoting high profit margin, high fat pre-prepared and processed foods?

I agree with you. If Sainsbury would not put prices up as they do every single day, perhaps many people on benefits would be able to afford the basic and good quality food for their children.
It appeared all the problems caused by governments, institutions, agencies, shops, banks are pushed back on to us to be resolved. Yet the guilty ones are having good times enjoying the sunshine on a beach with a glass of champagne in their hands!!