Waterford Food Bank receives significant funding from Tesco Ireland

Waterford Food Bank has been awarded €25,000 worth of funding from Tesco Ireland's once-off 25 Years Community Fund.

This funding will help the organisation to purchase and install a special walk-in freezer to maximise its food storage and, subsequently, food availability for those in need in Waterford.

Local groups and charitable organisations from all over Ireland were invited to apply for a chance of winning the one-off funding. Initially, €100,000 was available to four causes across Dublin, Leinster, Munster and Connacht and Ulster.

However, with an overwhelming number of applications in each area, Tesco decided to give two more causes in each area an injection of funding to help support their next projects. In total, Tesco has donated €130,000 to groups across Ireland as part of this initiative, in addition to the ongoing support it provides to local good causes every 12 weeks.

Established in 2017, Waterford Food Bank is responsible for distributing over 170 food parcels weekly to individuals and families living in food poverty in Waterford. The organisation is staffed by Tús and Community Employment scheme participants and relies on fundraising and donations from individuals and businesses in the local area.

The €25,000 funding from Tesco will go towards purchasing and installing a special walk-in freezer. Installing a new freezer will allow Waterford Food Bank to hold more food which will in turn support more individuals and families experience food poverty across Waterford.

As Tesco Ireland marks 25 years of operating in Ireland, it has been celebrating and recognising the thousands of good causes and local projects all over Ireland that work to support and build thriving communities. Over 650 local causes from all over Ireland applied to ‘The 25 Years Community Fund’.

The hotly contested judging took place last week with a panel comprising broadcaster and presenter, Blathnaid Treacy; Tesco Ireland Communications Director, Rosemary Garth; Business in The Community, CEO, Tomás Sercovich; Grants and Donor Services Executive at The Community Foundation for Ireland, Shreya Chaturvedi; and Assistant Principal at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deborah Dignam.

Speaking at the winners’ announcement Rosemary Garth, Communications Director, Tesco Ireland said: "To celebrate 25 years of Tesco Ireland, we wanted to do something really special to celebrate the various community groups and causes who give so much of their time and efforts to supporting our local communities.

"What an exciting process this has been; having so many fantastic entries meant that making a decision was incredibly tough, and that’s why we decided to announce runner-up funding for each area. We believe we have chosen truly deserving winners and we can’t wait to see their plans come to fruition over the next few months," Ms Garth said. 

Broadcaster Blathnaid Treacy added: "It’s been an absolute joy to be a part of the judging panel for The 25 Years Community Fund and I found it very inspiring going through all of the entries for the competition. Although there can only be one winner from each region, it was such a tough decision to make, but I’m delighted for all of the groups".

Tesco Ireland has been a longstanding supporter of local communities throughout Ireland, supporting the issues that matter most where customers and colleagues live and work.

The 25 Years Community Fund is an extension of the Tesco Community Fund programme and since 2014, the programme has donated over €7 million to more than 22,000 national and local causes, helping to build and support thriving communities all over Ireland.