STORES in Somerset have been overwhelmed by the generosity of customers who donated at the Tesco Winter Food Collection.

There were 20,645 meals’ worth of long-life food items donated at the collection between November 25-30 in the county’s large and Express stores.

Every item donated in Somerset provides much-needed support for charities FareShare and Trussell in the run-up to Christmas.

Donations to Trussell help food banks to provide emergency food parcels to people who cannot afford the essentials.

This winter will see heightened levels of need for both charities’ services with the Christmas holidays being a particularly difficult time for families due to the increased costs that occur at this time of year.

Tesco CEO Ken Murphy said: “I just want to say a huge thank you to every single person who donated items at this year’s Winter Food Collection. Their generosity is always so amazing and really helps to make a huge impact.”