Aldi Neighbourly food donation

Aldi has donated 40 million meals to communities since the launch of its food donations initiative in 2019, it revealed today.

The discounter launched the scheme in partnership with community giving platform Neighbourly, allowing it to help foodbanks, charities and community groups across the country to donate surplus food year-round.

Aldi said it was now calling for additional local charities, community groups and food banks to sign up to receive food donations ahead of the festive period.

All Aldi stores will close on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day which Aldi said would lead to more food being made available to groups tackling hunger.

Charities paired with Aldi stores can collect fresh and chilled food products nearing the end of their shelf life – with the supermarket pledging to donate over a million meals during the Christmas period.

“We know that many communities up and down the country continue to feel the impact of the rise in living costs said Liz Fox, Aldi’s national sustainability director.

That’s why we are committed to ensuring that the communities we provide for always get the support they need.

“We’re proud to hit our 40 million meals milestone with Neighbourly. This is a huge achievement and motivates us to go further and supply even more meals to local charities.”

Neighbourly chief executive officer Steve Butterworth added: “Christmas can be a challenging time for some families, and we expect many more will depend on the services of local charities this year.

“We’re sure there are lots more groups out there that could use the extra help that businesses like Aldi provide, so we encourage them to sign up.”

Any groups that are interested in collecting unsold food at Christmas that are not currently working with Neighbourly can get in touch with them at aldichristmas@neighbourly.com by 10 November.

Customers can donate any food or household products to local causes all year round through community donation points in all Aldi stores.