Daniel Zeichner MP joined staff from Tesco and local volunteers at Jimmy’s Night Shelter to celebrate the company’s Community Food Connection programme and mark a milestone in the effort to stop the waste of food by working with local charities.

The event will involve a visit to Jimmy’s Night Shelter, one of the charities involved in Tesco’s Community Food Connection programme, to speak with local store colleagues and observe the charity as it receives food from the Tesco store on Newmarket Road. Daniel will also speak with local volunteers about the food redistribution programme, which gives food to groups and charities at the end of each working day, and the people of Cambridge who benefit from it.

Since the programme was launched in February 2016, Tesco stores in the Cambridge area have donated 10,676 meals to local groups and charities including Jimmy’s and The Edge Recovery Café. The four large Tesco stores in Cambridge have now donated up to 16,000 meals and, across the UK, Community Food Connection has donated over 5 million meals to over 3,370 different charities and groups. 

Daniel Zeichner said: “Although Cambridge is a hugely successful city, it remains a city of two halves. The excellent work of volunteers in reducing food waste and helping people in need in our city is a testament to the important role played by civil society in combatting poverty.”

Julie Izzard, Tesco Cambridge Newmarket Road Community Champion, added: “I am so proud that via Community Food Connection, we are able to provide much needed food that would otherwise go to waste to charities and community groups in Cambridge. Over the next few months, all Cambridge Tesco Express stores will also begin to use Community Food Connection, which means we can help even more people in need.”