Tesco : Proud to support local communities across the East Midlands

18 Oct 2018

The way shopping is changing has made me reflect on my own role overseeing supermarkets in and around my city.

From my time working in the retail sector, I've always been fascinated by the way people shop. It's a subject more and more people have wanted to chat to me about recently.

That's because retail is so often making headlines at the moment, both in the national news and here in Nottingham. A third of people in Nottingham believe retail is the industry with the biggest impact in driving economic prosperity in the area, and when you consider it accounts for 10% of jobs in the East Midlands , you can see why.

For me and my colleagues, Tesco is a place where we work to support our families. We employ more than 600 full-time colleagues in Nottingham in jobs that help them get on, on their own terms.

Take Balazs. Balazs joined Tesco in June 2015 as a Grocery colleague working nights. He has since completed an apprenticeship with us and is ready to begin the next stage of his journey with Tesco and will be going to the Beeston Extra store to complete a placement as a Grocery Team Manager.

Our contribution goes a lot further than being an employer though. Earlier this year, KPMG published a report examining Tesco's contribution in communities across the country. We call it Value in Your Town. The report opened my eyes to the contribution we make to communities across Nottingham and the UK as a whole.

Our Community Food Connection programme, delivered in partnership with FareShare, links our stores in Nottingham to local charities and community groups to ensure that no good food goes to waste. In Nottingham, we've donated enough food to provide 20,000 meals to people who need them.

We're also making a positive contribution in Nottingham through our Bags of Help scheme, where the money raised by the sale of carrier bags is being used to fund local projects that have been nominated by Tesco colleagues and customers. Last year we donated over £121,000 to community projects in and around Nottingham - in fact, maybe you were one of the customers who voted for Rainbow Stripes, a group that runs live music workshops for children.

I'm clear that my number one job is still to make it easier for Nottingham's families to enjoy good quality, affordable food. But I'm proud to be part of something even bigger than that - from helping local businesses grow, to creating rewarding jobs, to giving back to the local community.

People in Nottingham have mixed feelings about how the general economic situation in our city will change over the next 12 months - 14% think it will get a little better, 28% think it'll get a little worse. I don't have a crystal ball, but I can say that we'll keep working hard to serve Nottingham better in the future.

For more information on Tesco's contribution in your local area, visit tescoplc.com|valueinyourtown