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SEVENTY-NINE CHARITIES RECEIVE MEAL DONATIONS FROM ALDI THIS CHRISTMAS

Supermarket pairs up with charities to donate surplus food from Christmas Eve

Aldi is supporting local charities throughout Ireland by donating meals to people in need this Christmas, with seventy-nine Irish causes benefitting from the initiative. The supermarket has paired up its stores with local charity organisations to make the most of unsold fresh and chilled food after stores close on Christmas Eve.

In addition to these donations, Aldi stores will be freezing down any surplus seasonal meat to be sent to FoodCloud hubs for further distribution among their wider network of over 300 charities and community groups. The initiative is part of Aldi’s successful partnership with FoodCloud, which sees all of Aldi’s 149 Irish stores donate surplus food to good causes seven days a week, all year round.

Since beginning its partnership with FoodCloud in 2014, Aldi has donated over 2.35 million meals, equating to a saving of more than €3 million for the charity sector while also benefiting the environment saving an equivalent of 3.2M tonnes of CO2. In 2020, Aldi became the first supermarket to make a non-surplus food donation to FoodCloud, in an effort to help alleviate the huge pent-up demand for FoodCloud’s services as a result of Covid-19.

Aldi launched its 2021 Food for Good campaign earlier this year to help combat the heightened pressure on FoodCloud’s services as a result of the pandemic. As part of the campaign, Aldi introduced donation points in all stores, offering customers the opportunity to donate non-perishable food to local causes.

Commenting, John Curtin, Aldi Group Buying Director, said: “The festive season can be a particularly difficult time many, so we are very proud to continue to support FoodCloud with additional food donations this Christmas. We hope these donations can make a real difference to even more charities and people in need across local communities.”

Welcoming the donations, Aoibheann O’Brien, co-founder of FoodCloud, said: “FoodCloud are delighted to work with Aldi to ensure that no good food goes to waste from stores this Christmas, we look forward to making sure that community groups across the country can benefit!”

FoodCloud is a not-for-profit social enterprise working to reduce the environmental and social impacts of food waste. FoodCloud connects businesses with surplus food to charities in need, and currently supplies a network of over 750 charities. Food is distributed in two ways, direct from stores and through three dedicated FoodCloud hubs to help charities reach those most vulnerable in their communities.