Red Cross to aid efforts to feed UK’s poor

A scheme to help hard-up families has received a massive boost after the British Red Cross agreed to come on board.

The aid agency has thrown its weight behind a campaign run by Tesco and two other charities, FareShare and the Trussell Trust, to help feed the needy.

The supermarket giant will be hosting teams from the British Red Cross’s 30,000 volunteer network as they collect food donated by shoppers which will then be distributed by FareShare.

Tesco has implemented the National Food Collection plan before, and the British Red Cross will join forces next month.

Nearly 500,000 people in the UK needed support from food banks last year, according to figures from the Trussell Trust.

Juliet Mountford, head of UK service development, said the Red Cross agreed to assist FareShare on the basis of “strong evidence of an increased need for support on food poverty issues”.