St Dunstan's School fights food waste after Tesco donation

The Glastonbury primary school on Cox's Close was chosen by local shoppers - using the blue tokens at checkout - as the recipient of the Tesco Stronger Starts donation.

UKHarvest, operating in Glastonbury, is working with St Dunstans School which will receive the carefully designed educational material along with all the additional resources, food and equipment. 

It plans to teach students how we can all do more in our homes to prevent healthy food from going to waste. UKHarvest delivers in-person or online educational sessions, lesson plans, teacher support, ingredients and donated equipment such as air-fryers and slow cookers to schools.

Claire de Silva, Tesco UK Head of Communities and Local Media, said: "Helping schools and children’s groups access the food and resources they need is vitally important in getting children a stronger start in life. Children with enough food have more energy, better concentration, and ultimately achieve more too."

Graham Duxbury, Groundwork’s UK Chief Executive, said: "As a community charity, we have seen first-hand how schools and other groups supporting young people have been playing a much bigger role in ensuring children are getting a healthy start to the day and getting access to spaces and services to support physical activity and mental health.

"Family budgets are tight and school budgets are tight, but it’s so important that children stay fed, fit and focused, so we’re delighted to be able to prioritise these activities alongside Tesco with the Stronger Starts programme."

Simon Thresher, Operations and Compliance Manager at UKHarvest shared that "The work UKHarvest has been able to do, thanks to the ongoing Tesco funding, has allowed our education programme to develop into the impactful resource it is today. Reaching more households around the country, the TSSS initiative will allow students across the country to access support material giving them the skills they need to help reduce the ongoing challenges of food waste in UK. We are grateful to be part of the programme."

To boost funds for extra food and activity equipment, Tesco is introducing a £5m grant programme, in partnership with Groundwork UK, Tesco Stronger Starts to give children across the UK a stronger start in life.

The grants will help schools and children’s groups provide nutritious food and healthy activities that support young people’s physical health and mental well-being.