Tesco pulls out of charity scheme

Supermarket firm Tesco has decided to stop its work with a charity which delivers shopping to the elderly and disabled in south west Scotland. It used to prepare bags of groceries which the Food Train service then distributed in and around Stranraer.

Food Train chairman Mike McLurg said leaving the scheme was "not the way to deal with customers". A spokesman for Tesco said the number of people using the service meant it had become "unmanageable to continue".

Food Train is a voluntary organisation which provides a grocery shopping home delivery service across Dumfries and Galloway. It is funded by Dumfries and Galloway Council and NHS Dumfries and Galloway.

Food Train used to deliver shopping lists from its users to Tesco and then pick up the orders from the store a couple of days later.

However, Mr McLurg said the company had now been told that as of 20 November Tesco would no longer provide the service. "That to me is a dreadful position," he said. "These are people who have probably shopped at Tesco for the last 20 or 30 years. Now that they are old, disabled and housebound Tesco is saying it is not willing to help them."

Mr McLurg said Tesco's decision had forced the Food Train into "emergency mode" to get other retailers to provide the service. "This is not customer care, it is customer don't care," he said. "These are Tesco customers - they want to shop at Tesco but they are being booted out."

A Tesco spokesman said it had been pleased to work with the Food Train in Dumfries and Galloway. "However, as the number of participants in the scheme has grown considerably it has simply become unmanageable to continue and fulfil our obligations to our customers and other charities," he said. "We do actively engage in the communities in which we operate and last year we raised £41.7m for charities and good causes."

The Food Train uses a number of other supermarkets and smaller stores to obtain shopping for its users.