Supermarket chain Aldi pledge to give back this Christmas by donating surplus food to charities, food banks and community groups. Food that does not sell in stores will be donated to local charities rather than go to waste.
Organisations are encouraged to register to receive the donations to benefit from Aldi’s partnership with Neighbourly, a community engagement platform that links businesses to food banks and charities.
Aldi has announced that all its stores will be closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day, so it is keen to ensure that families who might otherwise miss out will benefit from any surplus food stocks over the festive period.
Existing charity partnerships will be prioritised for festive food donations, but where availability allows, organisations are invited to apply to be paired with a local Aldi store to collect fresh and chilled food products ahead of stores closing on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.
Mary Dunn, Managing Director of Corporate Responsibility at Aldi UK, said: “Our food donations scheme operates year-round, but we know that Christmas can be a particularly difficult time for the families and communities we support.
“That’s why we are so committed to increasing the number of meals we donate over the festive season, and we look forward to working with local charities this Christmas to help us meet our 10 million meals target for the year.”
Steve Butterworth, from Neighbourly, added: “With the impact of the pandemic still being felt by communities up and down the country, charities and local causes are expecting record demand for their services this Christmas.
“We’re sure there are lots more groups out there that could put this food to good use, so we’d encourage them to get in touch.”
Aldi and Neighbourly say that organisations do not need to be a registered charity to apply but they must have a level two hygiene certificate gained in the last two years and be able to transport and store chilled food products after collecting them from the stores on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve at 5pm.
To register for a food donation, email aldichristmas@neighbourly.com before December 5 2021.
