ALDI stores in Merseyside donated 41,600 meals to those in need over the recent festive period.

The UK’s 4th largest supermarket teamed up with local good causes across the UK to donate a range of fresh and chilled foods from its stores after closing early on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.

Research from Neighbourly, the community giving platform that works with Aldi, found that 78% of the good causes it supports were more concerned about meeting demand this Christmas, compared to the same time last year.

Additionally, 51% felt they would not be able to respond to every request for help due to capacity and funding.

The supermarket has also donated £25,000 to Neighbourly’s GoGive Christmas campaign to further support local charities across UK and Ireland.

Aldi has worked with Neighbourly since 2019 and provides surplus food from all of its UK stores to hundreds of charities across the country throughout the year.

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 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 2,000 free Christmas lunches to Company Shop’s award-winning social enterprise, Community Shop.