THIS weekend will offer the perfect opportunity for everyone inspired by the Lancashire Telegraph’s Foodbank Campaign to ‘get involved’.

The Trussell Trust, the charity that runs 325 foodbanks around the country, has teamed up with Tesco Stores to host ‘The National Food Collection.’ On Friday and Saturday, volunteers from Blackburn Foodbank will be at two Blackburn Tesco stores, Hill Street, and Tesco Metro in The Mall, as well as at Great Harwood’s Queen Street store, from 10am to 5pm, to collect donations from generous shoppers.

Foodbank volunteers will meet the shoppers who wish to participate in the collection and give them a ‘shopping list’, which list items the Food-bank is most in need of.

Shoppers are invited to buy one, or more, of the items on the list, and drop it off with the volunteers on their way out of the stores.

After 5pm, the collection will be manned by Tesco staff until 10pm, when the price of food will be calculated – as Tesco have pledged to top up donations by 30per cent.

The collection comes after the success of a similar drive in Tesco stores in December.

Ros Duerden, project manager of Blackburn Foodbank, said: “Last time we collected in Tesco, the people of Blackburn were amazing and gave so generously.

“We hope to have a very similar success this time.”

This collection comes just in time for the summer holidays and Food-banks in East Lancashire have all indentified an increase in referrals during the school holidays.

Rebecca Shelley, Group Corporate Affairs Director at Tesco, said: “Since our last national food collection in December, the problem of food poverty in the UK has increased, and shows no signs of improving.”

“It’s hitting families hard, especially when resources like free school meals, breakfast clubs, and after-school clubs, are not available.”

Mrs Duerden is also asking local business to call the Foodbank to arrange for their very own ‘Collection Basket’ for the work place.

Staff can then donate non-perishable food items during the working week, and the Foodbank will come and collect the donations.

Mrs Duerden said: “Our work-based collection points are essential.

“Baskets in businesses mean that we have a sustained income of food.

“If everyone at work in Blackburn donated just one item a week, we’d be sorted.”

To find out how to get your basket, to volunteer, or to have a donation collected, please call 01254 672756.