BLACK Country Foodbank and Tesco will be teaming up this weekend to feed those in need.

Foodbank volunteers and supermarket staff will be collecting items at the front of the Tesco Extra store at Burnt Tree, on Friday and Saturday, September 16 and 17, between 10am and 2pm.

Volunteers will be on hand to inform people of the items which are in most need that they can buy while shopping donate after before leaving the store.

Ian Austin, Labour MP for Dudley North, worked with foodbank volunteers and Tesco staff to organise the new collections.

He said: “I’m really pleased we’ve been able to fix these extra collections up because whilst the Black Country Foodbank has been working hard for years to support local people, demand keeps rising.

“It's terrible that people are going hungry in the 21st century, but volunteers at the foodbank do great work to help those short of food and it’s great that Tesco’s local staff want to help out.

“Black Country people are the most generous in Britain, so I know local people will rally round to help out this weekend.”

Nationally, food banks are still experiencing record demand, with 1.1 million emergency visits to food banks over the last year, up from just 40,898 in 2010.

Mike Burke, store manager at the supermarket, said: “At Tesco Dudley we are working hard to provide a great service to the community. It’s great to be able to help The Black Country Foodbank in their mission to support people in our local area. Tesco are passionate about our community so anything we can do to help is our pleasure. We also provide food to five different charities in the local area on a weekly basis to help reduce food waste.”

All collections will help feed local families who are struggling to put food on the table.