Thousands of meals have been donated to foodbanks and organisations, thanks to the generosity of Tesco shoppers in Stevenage.

Customers donated 2,519 meals as part of the overall total of 2.5 million donated to charities the Trussell Trust and FareShare by shoppers during last month's Tesco Food Collection - with the supermarket topping up the value of all the donations by an additional 20 per cent.

The donations to foodbanks in the Trussell Trust's network are being used to provide food parcels for people in crisis, while donations to FareShare go to charities and community groups such as homeless shelters and older people's lunch clubs which also receive surplus food from Tesco stores.

The donations from the three-day collection are in addition to items donated by customers throughout the year at a network of more than 500 permanent collection points at Tesco stores.

Between January and October, more than seven million meals were donated to food banks in the Trussell Trust's network at those in store collection points.

Tesco director Christine Heffernan said: "On my visits to stores during the collection I was taken aback by the generosity of our customers.

"I would like to thank all those who donated and we will be doing our bit by topping up all the donations by 20 per cent."

The Trussell Trust's chief executive Emma Revie added: "Food banks up and down the country could not do what they do without the incredible support of the public and their loyal volunteers who work tirelessly to help people when they need support the most.

"An emergency food parcel, listening ear and compassionate, practical advice at the food bank can make a real difference when someone is facing a crisis. Any donations help make that difference."

FareShare's chief executive Lindsay Boswell added: "We are hugely grateful to every single person who volunteered and donated items during this year's Tesco Food Collection. All items donated by Tesco customers will be redistributed by FareShare to charities and community organisations and will help to ensure more people get a hot, nutritious meal."

The Tesco Food Collection ran in all Tesco stores in the UK from November 21 to 23.