Epping Forest MP Dame Eleanor Laing visited the Waltham Abbey Tesco store to support the annual Tesco Food Collection.
The appeal has been receiving donations of long-life food from customers to help the Trussell Trust and FareShare in their work supporting people in communities across the country.
The need for long-life food for the food banks and community groups which the Trussell Trust and FareShare support is greater than ever.
FareShare has more than doubled the amount of food it provides since the start of the pandemic and will be supporting 11,000 frontline charities and community groups this Christmas.
The Trussell Trust expects that food banks in its network could give out six food parcels to people in crisis every minute this winter.
Dame Eleanor said: "I was delighted to be able to visit the store and, as usual, support the marvellous initiative which is supporting local people - and which is even more in demand at the current time because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic."
Tesco is topping up all the customer donations by an additional 20 per cent in cash to the two charities.
Photo: Epping Forest MP Dame Eleanor Laing with (left to right) Waltham Abbey Tesco community champion Michele Moore, store manager Josh O'Brien and councillor Jeane Lea
