ASDA has donated £5million to food banks and community charities to help vulnerable people during the coronavirus crisis.

The supermarket giant said its Fight Hunger Create Change partnership with food bank networks FareShare and the Trussell Trust will provide more than four million meals to families in poverty, with more than 3,000 charities able to access free food over the next three months.

It comes amid a huge increase in demand for food banks due to supermarket shortages and job losses.

Asda said the funding will also be used to aid the recruitment of 20,000 food bank volunteers and help families get access to over-the-phone support and income maximisation services.

Roger Burnley, CEO of Asda, said: “These are the most extraordinary of times and I am keenly aware of our responsibility to help feed the nation – both by keeping our shelves stocked and deliveries moving – but also by providing employment opportunities where we can and supporting our charity partners to help the most vulnerable in our communities.

"The efforts my colleagues are going to support our customers every day are fantastic, and we will continue to recognise their efforts wherever we can."

Asda has already confirmed that it is working to recruit more than 5,000 people into temporary roles from industries impacted by the crisis in a bid to ensure people are kept in jobs and wage cost pressures are lifted from struggling companies.

Staff continue to keep shelves filled for customers and have been told this week that they will receive full pay should they need to self-isolate as a result of coronavirus symptoms.

The supermarket also said that it will be prioritising NHS workers in larger stores every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 8am-9am.

Emma Revie, chief executive of the Trussell Trust, said: “Food banks face an unprecedented challenge in the coming months. As the coronavirus outbreak unfolds, more people are likely to need emergency food at exactly the same time as fewer volunteers are able to help.

"This funding will help us recruit and train new food bank volunteers across the UK, and support the coordination of packing and delivering pre-made food parcels to people who need a food bank’s help, but can’t leave their homes.

"Protecting people from hunger cannot fall to food banks alone, and we’ll be continuing to push for crucial changes that get money into the pockets of people who most need it."

Lindsay Boswell, chief executive of FareShare, added: "This will aid FareShare to adapt its models to reach the one million vulnerable people who we currently serve and work with our network of frontline charities to achieve the vital doorstep food deliveries and new food distribution methods we know are so essential at this time.”