Tesco shoppers in East Renfrewshire have been thanked after providing more than 2,000 meals to support the area’s foodbanks and frontline charities.

A total of 2,103 meals were donated at local stores between June 30 and July 2.

The donations of long-life food have now been shared with foodbanks in the Trussell Trust’s network, as well as worthy causes supplied by FareShare, to support local people facing hunger.

To further help charities cope with a growing need for help, Tesco has expanded its network of permanent food collection points, which can now be found in all stores, all year round.

Claire de Silva, head of community at Tesco, said: “We’re so grateful to our generous customers who kindly do what they can to help their local foodbanks and charities during our food collection.

“We hope our year-round donation points, now across our smaller convenience stores too, will provide more ways for people to help by giving if they can.”

Lindsay Boswell, FareShare CEO, added: “We are immensely grateful to Tesco customers for their generous food and financial donations during the Summer Food Collection.

“The support we receive from Tesco and its customers will enable FareShare to continue our support of children and families in East Renfrewshire during the summer and beyond.”

Emma Revie, chief executive at the Trussell Trust, said many local residents are being left with no option but to use a foodbank because their money “simply won’t stretch.”

She added: “The incredible generosity of Tesco customers during the Summer Food Collection will play a vital role in helping foodbanks provide emergency food and support to people facing hardship during this challenging period.

“We are grateful to everyone who was able to donate.”