Generous shoppers in Cambridgeshire made thousands of food donations to support food banks over the Christmas period.

The Tesco Winter Food Collection saw customers donating items in store which were then distributed through FareShare and the Trussell Trust.

Nationwide, an incredible two million meals’ worth of long-life food items were collected in November and December.

In Cambridgeshire, the figure was just over 40,000 meals.

Donations to the Trussell Trust help food banks provide emergency food parcels to people who cannot afford the essentials, while donations to FareShare support thousands of frontline local charities in communities across the country.

This year will see both charities face their busiest winter yet as more people turn to them for support.

The Trussell Trust is expecting to distribute one food parcel every eight seconds over the next three months and the charity has reported that, alarmingly, 320,000 people needed to access a food bank for the first time between April and September – the most ever for this period.

Meanwhile, FareShare has more than 1,500 frontline charities on its waiting list seeking food to help them provide meals for people facing hunger this winter.

Tesco CEO Ken Murphy said: “The generosity of our customers is truly amazing. At a time when people are facing financial strain, they still went out of their way to support our charity partners in stores across the UK.

“From a single carton of long-life milk to a whole trolley of items, every customer who donated helped us to make this one of the most successful Winter Food Collections ever.”

George Wright, chief executive at FareShare, said: “With so many people struggling to afford essentials this winter, it’s really uplifting to see that Tesco customers have donated so much food to help people facing hunger in the community. 

"Not only did they donate food, but many of them also donated their time by volunteering in the store to help us collect much-needed items this year too."

Emma Revie, CEO of the Trussell Trust: "People’s generosity never fails to amaze me and it is wonderful to see that once again communities and Tesco stores across the UK have come together to support their local food banks and ensure that they can be there for everyone who needs them this winter."