TWO charities providing vital food to people hit by the Covid-19 pandemic are appealing to people across Hexham to help support the UK's biggest food collection this Christmas.

From Thursday, November 19 until Saturday, November 21, charities FareShare and the Trussell Trust will be collecting food in Tesco stores across the UK and Northern Ireland as part of the annual, pre-Christmas Tesco Food Collection.

But first, the charities need Tyne Valley residents' help, as FareShare looks for people to volunteer at donation points in store, and the Trussell Trust seeks social media volunteers to share shopping lists online, encouraging people to donate.

Last year, three million meals were collected as part of the Tesco Food Collection, which sees the retailer top up customer donations by 20 per cent, and since its launch in 2012, more than 76million meals have been donated to the two charities by generous Tesco shoppers.

The call comes after food banks in the Trussell Trust's network are expecting to give out six emergency food parcels every minute this winter.

Margaret Nelson, Trussell Trust's regional manager in Cumbria, said: "A crisis can often bring out the best in people, and we have been overwhelmed by the support the UK has shown towards food banks in light of the coronavirus outbreak.

"As we look to one of the busiest times of the year for food banks in our network, we would be so grateful if people can share shopping lists of their local food bank's most-needed items on their social media to encourage friends and family to donate."

FareShare has tripled the amount of food it has been providing since the start of the pandemic and is expected to supply food to 11,000 front-line charities and community groups this winter.

People interested in volunteering can find out more and sign up at https://fareshare.org.uk/foodcollection