THE call has gone out for Oldham volunteers to help Tesco spread festive cheer to needy families this Christmas.

Leading food charities FareShare and The Trussell Trust are looking for members of the public to help at donation points at stores in the borough from Thursday, November 29 to Saturday, December 1 as part of the Tesco Food Collection.

Volunteers are needed to hand out shopping lists to customers so they can see the food items needed by foodbanks and community groups in the area and to answer any questions they may have.

The annual collection sees shoppers encouraged to donate long-life food to support those in need at Christmas. Tesco will top-up customer donations by 20 per cent to further support the two charities’ work.

Last year 3.34 million meals were collected nationwide and since launching in 2012 more than 49 million meals have been donated to the two charities by generous Tesco customers.

Emma Revie, chief executive of The Trussell Trust said: “Foodbanks across the country will be doing all they can to provide emergency support so people don’t go hungry this Christmas but to make sure everyone referred receives vital help our network needs your support.

“The more people volunteering with foodbanks at the Tesco Food Collection the more food will be collected from generous shoppers and the better prepared foodbanks will be for their busiest time of year.”

Lindsay Boswell, FareShare CEO said: “Volunteers collect an average of 600 meals per three-hour shift so we really can’t overestimate how important their contribution is.

“If you can spare a few hours to volunteer in your local store please do, and please encourage your friends, family and colleagues to get involved as well. You’ll be making an enormous difference.”

Tesco UK CEO Jason Tarry said: “Together we can make a real difference this Christmas through Tesco’s Food Collection scheme. Our customers have been incredibly generous in recent years and with the help of volunteers we hope to collect even more this year to support those who really need it.”

People can find out about local stores supporting FareShare and sign up to volunteer at www.fareshare.org.uk/get-involved/tesco-food-collection/ and www.trusselltrust.org/get-involved/tesco-food-collection/volunteer/.