Shoppers are divided over Sainsbury's new "Shop for Others" campaign with many questioning how much the supermarket giant is donating to the poor.

The initiative, launched this week, aims to help the most vulnerable in society this Christmas by encouraging shoppers to donate non-perishable food items and toys in boxes provided by supermarkets up and down the UK.

However, for some shoppers the move is just a cynical ploy to get customers to spend more in the store.

Here's what Twitter users have to say, reports the MEN .

"Nothing Irks me more than multi-million pound companies offering tips on helping others if you want to support donate some of your profits.

"If you as an individual want to help find a local charity & donate your time. Don’t feed profits and let them pat themselves on the back," tweeted one frustrated shopper.

Another added: "Here's a fun idea: instead of asking the already stretched-thin general public to spend more money at your store, £multi-million hypermarkets could just GIVE food to charity!

"This is a transparent campaign for people to give you more money."

Shoppers are asking if Sainsbury's are donating
Shoppers are asking if Sainsbury's are donating

"Could you please clarify if I am shopping for others in your store what are u contributing? Do u match my purchases?" questioned somebody else.

"This is stupid a lot of people can barely feed themselves yet the million pound companies are asking for help why dont they help by making food more affordable  #ShopForOthers  ," said yet another annoyed consumer.

A spokesperson for Sainsbury's responded to the criticism, told the Manchester Evening News: "The ‘help brighten a million Christmases’ campaign builds on our food donation programme which runs year-round and encourages people to donate new toys and non-perishable food items from any store in the UK – not just Sainsbury’s or Argos.

"We’ve made sure the donation bins are located at the front of all of our stores, so customers can easily pop in and drop off food or toys from elsewhere."