This £5 million grant programme aims to give children across the UK a stronger start in life through grants which help provide nutritious food and healthy activities that support young people’s physical health and mental wellbeing.

The scheme is open to schools, registered charities and not-for-profit organisations and offers grant awards of up to £1,500.

Applications are not eligible from individuals, Community Interest Companies or profit-making organisations.

Examples of eligible applications with a focus on food security for children and young people could be breakfast clubs or snacks, equipment for healthy activities, food growing projects, cooking/healthy eating projects or organisations addressing holiday hunger.

Every three months, three local good causes/projects are selected to be in Tesco’s blue token customer vote in Tesco stores throughout the UK.

Tesco in-store customers choose a local cause to support by dropping a blue token from the checkout into a voting box before they leave the store.

Two out of the three blue token voting boxes by checkouts will be dedicated to local schools. The third will be given to local community projects nominated by each store’s colleagues. Grants will be awarded depending on the number of votes received.

The application process is designed to be quick and easy, taking as little as 15 minutes to complete.

The funding must be used within a year.

Previous winners are free to re-apply. 

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis but projects in Richmond upon Thames may have a higher chance of being selected if they apply before 20 November, as the borough has been identified as currently being slightly undersubscribed. Where fewer projects are competing, the chance of winning the vote is higher.

If your organisation has beneficiaries around any of the following stores, you are encouraged to nominate them in your application: 

• Barnes Express
• Hampton Hill Express
• Kew Garden Express
• St Margarets Express
• Richmond Metro
• Richmond Express
• Teddington
• Whitton High Street
• Twickenham Whitton Road Express
• East Sheen Express
• Mortlake Express
• Richmond Kew Road Express
• Twickenham London Express

You can also a Tesco employee who you know to nominate your project. 

The scheme is managed by Groundwork and replaces the Tesco Community Grants funding programme.

Read the full guidance, including nomination and application forms, at the Tesco Stronger Starts webpages.