Local residents in Surrey Quays, Canada Water and Rotherhithe who are struggling to feed their families are receiving essential supplies from local Tesco stores, thanks to the unwavering efforts of local charity Restorative Justice for All International Institute (RJ4AII).
Restorative Justice for All International Institute provides a community fridge and foodbank which helps alleviate hunger in the community and create a space for South East Londoners to connect.
In order to deliver this service, RJ4AII receives donations of surplus food from Tesco Surrey Quays Extra and other local Tesco stores in partnership with food surplus redistribution charity FareShare.
These donations are part of Tesco’s national Community Food Connection programme, which ensures that surplus food from Tesco stores goes to charities and community groups whose volunteer members then distribute it to the public, while simultaneously reducing food waste.
Anna Fosse-Galtier, UK Operations Director at RJ4AII, said: “At RJ4All, we embarked on an exciting journey to create the world’s first restorative justice postcode.
“This initiative aims to equally distribute power in the community and address harm through restorative justice practices. We strive to alleviate poverty, reduce crime, support young people and celebrate diversity and are so grateful to the team as Tesco for helping us by providing high-quality food as part of our community fridge.”
Claire De Silva, Tesco Head of Community, said: “Working with community groups such as RJ4AII to help them get the food they need is such an important service for us to be able to provide. The dedication they have to their community is amazing, and we are pleased to do what we can to support.
“We firmly believe no good food should go to waste, which is why we began our Community Food Connection scheme. It enables us to ensure our surplus food is put to good use in communities.”
FareShare is the UK’s biggest charity fighting hunger and food waste. Two-thirds of the organisations it provides food to support children and families.
Katie Sadler, Head of FareShare Go, said: “The food that Tesco redistributes through FareShare makes a huge difference to people facing food insecurity across the UK.
“We work with thousands of charities and community groups providing essential support to their communities, and receiving a steady stream of food helps them to feed the people who need it most.”
Charities and community groups that could benefit from the support of the Community Food Connection scheme can find further information at https://fareshare.org.uk/getting-food/
