THOUSANDS of mealswere provided to people in need this Christmas, thanks to customer donations at Tesco stores in Ealing.

Generous customers donated more than 7,300 meals for food charities FareShare and The Trussell Trust during the Tesco Food Collection, which ran in stores from November 29 to  December 1.

Food donated to The Trussell Trust is given in emergency food parcels to people referred to it as they cannot afford to feed themselves and their families.

READ MORE: Acton's 'Fools and Horses estate' gets permission to grow

Goods donated to FareShare goes to charities and community groups, who use it to provide meals for vulnerable groups such as isolated older people and those in homeless shelters.

Tesco is again topping up the value of customer donations by 20%, providing the two charities with funding to run the foodbanks and distribute the food.