Most plant cells and some animal cells have vacuoles. Plant cells often have one very large vacuole. Animal cells, if they contain any vacuoles, generally have a few small ones. Vacuoles act like storage tanks. Food and other materials needed for the cell are stored inside the vacuoles.
Vacuoles can also store waste products.
In plant cells, vacuoles are the main water-storage areas. When water vacuoles in plants are full, they swell and make the cell plump. This plumpness keeps a plant firm. These are formed initially by the engulfing or phagocytosis of food particles. Although most higher plants lack the lysosomes of animal and motile algal cells, the vacuole functions as the plant cell's lysosomal compartment, containing hydrolytic enzymes that digest stored macromolecules and recycle molecular components from organelles.