TESCO shoppers in Swindon donated hundreds of meals to vulnerable people in need over the summer.

The supermarket's partnership with FareShare and the Trussell Trust allowed 1,281 meals to be distributed to the two charities.

The food collected will help the Trussell Trust provide emergency food parcels to families in crisis and help FareShare support thousands of frontline groups working to feed children and families across the country.

Tesco has topped up all the customer donations with an extra 20 per cent in cash to help the charities in their work.

Across the UK, the scheme led to a total of 900,000 meals’ worth of food donated by shoppers and collected by the two charities

FareShare South West CEO Julian Mines said: “We are incredibly grateful to everyone who volunteered and every customer who donated items during this year’s Tesco Summer Food Collection.

"It was wonderful to see so many passionate people lending a hand to support.

“The donations we receive through the food collection are vital and will be redistributed by FareShare to charities and community organisations working with people across the UK.”

Trussell Trust chief executive Emma Revie added: “Thanks to the incredible compassion and generosity of Tesco customers during the Tesco Summer Food Collection, food banks in our network have been able to offer emergency food parcels to thousands of families in crisis throughout the summer months, while we work in the long term to build a hunger free future.

“We have been truly humbled to see how much people have been willing to give to food banks this summer, as our nationwide network of food banks do all they can to help families meet the extra financial pressures of the holiday period.”

Tesco’s head of community Claire De Silva said: “Having seen the pressures that both charities are facing we know that food donations are more vital than ever, and we know every single meal donated will make a difference to someone’s life, so we are glad we have been able to support with an additional collection this year.

“Our customers in Swindon have shown amazing support once again, and we will continue to work closely with both charities to help them in the crucial work they do across the UK.”

Customers can continue to support FareShare and the Trussell Trust by donating at permanent collection points at all large Tesco stores, or by donating Tesco Clubcard points to help them in their work.