Aldi Stores In Yorkshire Increase Food Donations To Children During School Holidays

Aldi stores in Yorkshire are set to ramp up food donations to support families and children at risk of food insecurity over the upcoming Christmas school holidays.

With the help of Neighbourly, a community giving platform that works with Aldi to donate surplus food to charitable organisations all year round, Aldi’s new Community Cupboard programme will see thousands of extra meals donated to Yorkshire families in need this Christmas.

The new programme will also increase food donations to children during the February half-term and Easter breaks.

One of those local community groups includes Rethink Food in Leeds.

Rethink Food's mission is to remove hunger as a barrier to learning, while educating and empowering people to live food secure lives. The charity uses surplus food as part of its education programme that runs alongside the national curriculum, which enables parents to access food while collecting their children.

Chris Green from Rethink Food said:
“As the Covid-19 pandemic hit the UK and we entered a nationwide lockdown, our programme was more vital than ever in supporting families and children in the area. We are working closely with Leeds City Council to offer support to those that need it most over the festive period, and the surplus food donations from Aldi will help us massively in managing the increased demand we’re expecting to see.”

Luke Peech, Managing Director of Corporate Responsibility at Aldi UK, said:
“At a time of uncertainty, it is vital that the important issue of food poverty is kept front of mind – and this is why we are working with Neighbourly to increase donations to families and children who need additional support this Christmas, as well as during other school holidays.”

Steve Butterworth, from Neighbourly, added:
“We believe that tackling food insecurity is an important social issue and Aldi’s additional donations will go a long way to feeding thousands of children over the school holidays.”

The initiative is part of Aldi’s partnership with Neighbourly which donates 650,000 meals a month to charities throughout the UK. The Community Cupboard programme will see Aldi donate an additional 660,000 meals during the school holidays to causes that support children at risk of food security.