Tesco has donated 171,889 meals across Croydon, the supermarket revealed today. 

The food has been donated through the Community Food Connection scheme, which operates with food redistribution charity FareShare. 

Every Tesco store in the UK participates in the scheme, which is celebrating five years of helping communities across the country. 

The scheme works by pairing charities and community groups with their local Tesco store.

At the end of each day a store colleague works out which food is likely to be unsold and then uses an app to tell a local charity or community group what food can be collected.

Lindsay Boswell, FareShare’s Chief Executive, said: “We are delighted that Tesco has reached this milestone. 

 "Donating the equivalent of 50 million meals is no mean feat and has gone such a long way in supporting thousands of charities and community groups up and down the country. 

 “The scheme is a real game-changer for organisations working with the vulnerable, allowing even more people to access good to eat food which would otherwise go to waste.”

Jason Tarry, Tesco UK CEO, said: “Tesco Community Food Connection has made a real difference to communities. 

"Now that we are five years into the scheme the fact that we have donated 50m meals allows us to reflect on its success. 

"As well as, the difference the scheme has made not only in feeding people in communities across the UK but also to tackling climate change. 

"However, there is more to do, and we are looking at how we can divert even more food from waste in future.”