Aldi helped deliver more than 1.5 million meals to people in need over the Christmas and New Year period by donating surplus food from stores across the UK.
The UK’s fourth largest supermarket teamed up with local good causes nationwide to donate a range of fresh and chilled foods from its stores after closing early on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.
Neighbourly, the community giving platform that partners with Aldi, found that charitable organisations faced increasing pressure over the winter period. Four in five charities said demand for their services had risen over the past six months and demand for foodbanks and other food provision are expected to increase by nearly 30% over the colder months.
Aldi has worked with Neighbourly since 2019 and provides surplus food from all of its UK stores to thousands of charities across the country.
Luke Emery, National Sustainability Director at Aldi UK, said: “This Christmas we were proud to support so many incredible charities across the UK who provide essential support to those in need. The services provided by food banks are more important than ever in the current climate, especially over the festive period and we’re committed to ensuring those that rely on them have access to a wide range of high-quality foods.”
Steve Butterworth, CEO at Neighbourly, added: “We’re so grateful to have had Aldi’s support for another year. Christmas is one of the busiest periods for our charities and the donations from Aldi mean we can help even more people across the country who need that bit of extra support over the festive period.”
Shoppers can donate food to local charities, food banks and community groups via the community donation points in Aldi stores nationwide.
Aldi also works with Company Shop Group, the UK’s leading redistributor of surplus food and household products, to redistribute surplus food from its Regional Distribution Centres. This year, it provided more than 2,500 free Christmas lunches to Company Shop’s award-winning social enterprise, Community Shop.
The UK’s fourth largest supermarket also made it easier for shoppers to give back through a warm clothing and post-Christmas clear-out appeal with The Salvation Army and InPost Lockers, allowing customers to donate coats, hats, scarves and gloves – as well as unwanted Christmas gifts in good condition – at InPost Locker donation points in Aldi stores across the UK.
