A SUPERMARKET giant is staging a charity extravaganza to support those who may have fallen on hard times.

Tesco’s Neighbourhood Food Collection will be taking place in stores including Hove and Eastbourne today and tomorrow (Saturday).

Shoppers are being asked to donate food to benefit local charities and those using foodbanks in the area. Items needed include rice, tea, tinned meat and fish, tinned vegetables, coffee, UHT milk and tinned fruit.

Last year shoppers in Eastbourne generously donated 25,533 meals to help local people.

The campaign will use the hashtag #everycanhelps to get people talking about the collection and remind shoppers that just one can of food makes a difference to people who find themselves without any in the cupboard.

Nigel Stevens, store manager at Eastbourne Extra, said: "We’re delighted to see all the stores in the area join together and run the Neighbourhood Food Collection in Eastbourne.

"Our customers were extremely generous when we held our last collection at Christmas, and we’re hoping they rise to the challenge once more.

"It’s a fantastic cause that really helps those in need in the community, which is at the heart of everything we do as a business."

Now in its fifth year, the Neighbourhood Food Collection is run by Tesco in partnership with charity partners FareShare and the Trussell Trust. It is held twice a year, once in summer and once in the winter.

Tesco will financially top up donations made to its collection by 20%.

Tesco will work with FareShare and the Trussell Trust to re-distribute the food to people in need.

FareShare is a charity fighting hunger and its underlying causes by providing food to more than 2,200 local charities and community projects across the UK, including homeless shelters, children’s breakfast clubs, women’s refuge centres and luncheon clubs for older people, helping to feed 194,650 people every week.

The Trussell Trust’s 420-strong network of foodbanks provides a minimum of three days’ emergency food and support to people experiencing crisis in the UK. In 2015/16, 1,109,309 three day emergency food supplies were given to people nationwide, and 415,866 of these went to children.