Tesco to donate thousands of new warm coats for children to food banks
Tesco is stepping in to help families struggling by donating almost 4,000 brand new F&F coats to people in need.
The supermarket is giving around 2,000 coats to the Salvation Army and 1,000 to the food charity FareShare, which will distribute the warm clothing to its network of charities and community groups across the UK.
Another 1,000 will go to The Cottage Family Centre children’s charity in Kirkcaldy, Scotland who provide a range of support to families and individuals.
Tesco is also making a financial donation to each charity to help with the costs of distributing the coats to local communities.
The F&F clothing includes warm pram suits for babies, zipped jackets and padded coats for all ages, from toddlers to teenagers, and will be in various styles and colours.
The lorry load of warm clothing arrived on Monday 20th February at the Salvation Army depot in Wollaston, Northants, where it will begin its onward journey across the UK.
Jan Marchant, CEO F&F Clothing at Tesco, said: “With more cold weather set to come in the weeks ahead, we wanted to support families who may be struggling to afford new coats for their children.
“We hope that by making these items of warm clothing widely available through our charity partners, we can help more children to enjoy comfortable and fashionable coats without worrying about the price tag.”
Kirk Bradley, Head of Corporate Partnerships for SATCoL, the trading arm of the The Salvation Army, said: “We are extremely grateful for the donation from Tesco. The Salvation Army are responding to the needs of people up and down the country who cannot feed their families, heat their homes or pay their bills. This support from Tesco will go towards helping young children who may otherwise not be able to afford a coat.”
Lindsay Boswell CBE, Chief Executive at FareShare, said: “With millions of people struggling to make ends meet as a result of the cost of living crisis, this generous donation of winter coats from Tesco will be a huge help to so many. A lot of the charities FareShare supplies food to also provide wraparound care for the people accessing their services, so we know that there is a great need for warm clothing ahead of the expected cold snap.”
