Tesco to pilot Stronger Starts programme for school children and their families nationwide

Tesco has announced a new pilot programme that will provide thousands of meals to feed children and families experiencing food insecurity in Ireland. The pilot programme, Stronger Starts, is in partnership with the Good Grub Initiative, an Irish not-for-profit that distributes food for families through the DEIS school network.

Through the Stronger Starts pilot programme, Tesco will provide 1,000 families per week with free nutritious food packages containing potatoes, carrots, onions, and apples, to support them in preparing healthy meals at home. This activity complements the existing Government programmes which provide food supports to school children and their families around Ireland.

Good Grub is a not-for-profit initiative that has, since the start of the Covid pandemic, delivered nutritious fruit & veg parcels directly to the families of a number of DEIS school children around Ireland. During the pilot, home school community liaison officers in over 40 DEIS schools will identify families who may need supplemental support at home this winter.

Tesco began partnering with the Good Grub Initiative as a pilot programme in November 2021 and will now engage its customers with an awareness campaign at store level from Monday 3^rd until Sunday 16^th January. The pilot campaign, which will run until February will see Tesco provide the equivalent of over 120,000 thousand meals to families most in need in communities around Ireland

‘Stronger Starts’ is the latest community support programme from Tesco, all of which are helping to build thriving communities across Ireland.  Tesco Ireland was the first national retail partner of FoodCloud in 2014, and working with them has, to date, redistributed the equivalent of 15 million meals to nearly 400 charitable groups in communities all over Ireland – from breakfast clubs, to ’Meals on Wheels’, to community kitchens and food banks.

The new partnership with Tesco has been warmly welcomed by the Good Grub Initiative co-founder, Denis O’Reilly who said it would help their work in supplying food to many families around the country. He said: “We’re delighted that Tesco has come on board to help us provide nutritious packs of healthy food going into the homes that need them, complementing the Government and food provision programmes already in place in schools. This will make a huge difference to so many people that have been affected by increased food insecurity as a result of the pandemic.”

Kari Daniels, Tesco Ireland, CEO, said: “The Stronger Starts pilot programme is a simple way for us and our customers to support families in need around the country. We are delighted to partner with Denis, David and the team at the Good Grub Initiative on this community programme and look forward to growing our partnership. The Stronger Start programme helps our communities with a healthy start while also inspiring healthier choices for our customers.”

 Once the pilot is complete in February, Tesco and the Good Grub Initiative will review and refine the programme with the aim of reaching more children and families across Ireland.

For more information on Tesco’s commitment to communities nationwide, visit tescoireland.ie

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