Tesco and Lions Club launch food appeal

Tesco is supporting the Lions Club in their appeal to the Meath public to help people in need on the run-in to Christmas by supporting the Lions Club National Food Appeal, it has been announced today.

The collections will take place on Friday, November 29 from 11am to 7pm and again on Saturday, November 30, from 11 am until 7 pm in Tesco stores all across the country and in Navan.

According to a report published in October 2012 for Safefood Ireland ‘Measuring Food Poverty In Ireland – The Indicators and Implications’, 1 in 10 people in Ireland were living in food poverty.

The Christmas Food Appeal 2013 is to be the biggest of its kind in Ireland involving over 3,000 volunteers and could amass food which converts into approximately 80,000 meals.  All food collected will be distributed to causes in the localities. 

Liam Lyons, District Governor, Lions Clubs in Ireland, said: “Lions Clubs throughout Ireland have been making an annual Food Appeal for many years and we are delighted this year to have the support of Tesco in a project which enables up to 10,000 Irish families to enjoy a festive Christmas. Up to 1,600 Lions have volunteered to participate in the 2013 Food Appeal and we look forward to the continuing generosity of Tesco customers who have supported the project in the past. The needs of families are now greater than ever.”

Darren Somers, store manager Tesco Navan, said: “Tesco feeds more families in Ireland than any other supermarket, and we work hard to make sure people can eat well even if they don’t have a lot of money.  This year, we want to use our scale and our links with communities across the country to help tackle this growing problem.”

 

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How the Food Collections will work:

 

•             Food Collections will take place in Tesco stores on Friday 29th and Saturday the 30th November 2013.

•             The events will run on both days between 11am to 7pm.

•             Donations trollies will be clearly visible sign-posted at locations in the front of stores.

•             Only non-perishable  goods are requested for donation.

 

What types of food are suitable for the Collections?

 

•             Tea/coffee,

•             sugar,

•             breakfast cereals,

•             Tinned goods (beans/peas, soups, etc…)

•             Pasta/rice

•             Biscuits

•             Soft drinks

•             Selection boxes,

•             Christmas cake, etc…

 

The Lions Club has 115 clubs spread throughout the country with an unparalleled reputation for working to answer the needs that challenge communities across Ireland and the world.  This includes humanitarian relief, youth leadership as well as holding an annual food collection during December each year.  The Lions annual food collection has been operating for over 25 years in Ireland with the 2013 Christmas collection set to expand the reach of the campaign using Tesco stores to help people in need across Ireland.  Lions Clubs International was founded in the United States in 1917.  It is the largest Humanitarian, Voluntary Organisation comprising of 1.4 million members with over 46,000 Clubs in 207 Countries.