The people of Slough are being asked to volunteer in the UK's biggest food collection for people in need.

Leading charities the Trussell Trust and FareShare will be collecting food in Slough's Tesco between November 21 and 23.

During the collection, customers will be encouraged to donate long-life food to help food banks. Tesco will top up customer donations by 20 per cent to further support the two charities in their work.

To make this year’s collection a success, volunteers are needed to hand out shopping lists to customers so they can see the food items most needed by food banks and community groups in their area and to encourage people to donate.

Last year, 3.5 million meals were collected as part of the Tesco Food Collection and since its launch in 2012, more than 50 million meals have been donated to the two charities by generous Tesco customers.

Emma Revie, chief executive at The Trussell Trust, said: “No one should need a food bank at any time of year – but we know during the lead-up to Christmas our network of food banks see even more people needing help.

“Food banks will be doing all they can to provide vital emergency support so that people don’t face hunger this Christmas.

“Having your support in this year’s Tesco Food Collection will make a real difference – the more people who volunteer, the more food will be collected from generous shoppers, and the better prepared food banks will be to help local people.”

People interested in volunteering can find out more and sign up at www.fareshare/tescofoodcollection