More than 100 trucks of food have been delivered to Dundee charities.
Emergency provisions totalling more than 61,000 tonnes were donated to FareShare, which will dish them out to foodbanks across Tayside and Fife.
The Tesco donation included enough food to make 144,000 meals, which has been delivered to local Trussell Trust foodbanks.
Chris Doig, manager at the Dundee-based Tayside and Fife branch of FareShare, said: “We are immensely thankful to Tesco for their continued support during the coronavirus pandemic.
“Many of the frontline charities we work with continue to provide essential support within their communities, and the additional donations from Tesco will help us to keep up a steady supply of food to them during this difficult time.”
The donation comes after FareShare chief executive Lindsay Boswell told a UK parliament food committee foodbanks were hit by a perfect storm of surging demand, panic buying and stockpiling during the early days of lockdown.
The Dundee branch has bounced back but volunteers have reported a 350% increase in demand during the pandemic.
Jonny Astill, the Trussell Trust’s area manager for central and southern Scotland, said: “Foodbanks in our network across Dundee have gone above and beyond to ensure they’re able to continue to provide the lifeline of emergency food.
“These additional food donations from Tesco have helped to ensure people in financial crisis in Dundee are able to access the emergency food and support they need during these challenging times.”
The donation is part of a £30 million coronavirus support package by the supermarket.
Claire De Silva, head of community at the supermarket chain, said: “In every part of the UK there are charities and community groups doing amazing work to feed people during the pandemic, and we are glad that we have been able to support them in helping so many vulnerable people.
“We regularly donate surplus to charities and community groups through our Community Food Connection scheme and we have permanent collection points in more than 500 stores for the Trussell Trust’s foodbanks and FareShare but the Covid-19 outbreak has placed incredible demands on communities in every part of the UK. That is why we felt the need to provide even more practical help by sending £15m of food from our depots to help local charities and food banks across the country.”
