Asda launches national collection drive for Trussell Trust food banks

We're holding an in-store collection drive in our stores between Friday May 6th and Sunday May 8th asking for food and essential toiletries, with colleagues joining volunteers from food banks in the Trussell Trust network to encourage anyone who can afford it to donate an extra item or two.

Some stores will be joined by the local charities who will have stalls and information about their community project as well as a donation bucket. There will also be message boards and information by products signposting customers to which items are needed the most.

We've had customer collection food trolleys in stores, like Asda Boston (below) for five years and in that time our customers have donated the equivalent of over nine million meals to local food banks.

Asda Better Starts Manager Kloe Tegg said: “We know the ever-important role food banks play in local communities as people struggle to afford things we all need to live. We collect all year round but over the next few days we are hoping this food drive will lead to a big upturn in what will be vital donations.

“I am always so proud of the donations made by our customers and I am so thankful for the help they give to people in their communities who need it most.

"Through the £25 million donation Asda has made to its charity partners over the past three years, £5.7 million has been granted to food banks in the Trussell Trust’s network to provide services such as finance and debt advice."

The Trussell Trust’s Head of Corporate Partnerships, Sophie Carre says Asda's support and the generous donations from our customers and colleagues make a big difference.

She said: “As the cost-of-living crisis continues, food banks are telling us more people in communities across the country will be pushed deeper into poverty. This isn’t right. While we push for long-term change that ensures everyone has enough money for the things we all need to live, we are thankful to Asda for holding a food drive in May, which will help us make sure families can get emergency support from food banks this summer. Asda customers could make a real difference to their local food bank by donating food at their closest large Asda store during the summer food drive.”

Our Gosforth store's community champion Michelle Castledine, pictured at the top with her store's collection trolley, is among those supporting this weekend's collection drive.

She said: "If you can, please pop an item in the collection at the front of store. The number of people using food banks is on the increase and stock is running low. No matter how small a donation it is truly appreciated."

Colleagues at our Chorley store are getting behind the collection drive too:

The store's community champion Lucia Taylor said: "This weekend we're supporting two local groups taking part in the national food drive to collect vital donations for the food banks. On Friday Chorley Buddies will be in store and on Saturday Chorley Help the Homeless will be with us. Both groups provide invaluable support to the local community and we're calling on our generous customers and colleagues to donate vital food and hygiene items which will be distributed from the food banks throughout Chorley. We'd like to thank our customers and colleagues for their continued support and generosity."

Beyond the partnership with the Trussell Trust, we also make charitable donations through a back of store donation scheme, which in 2021 saw our stores, depots and home office donate enough surplus food to community projects to make the equivalent of 6.6 million meals. It's all part of our commitment to reduce food waste by 50% by 2030.