Aldi invites customers to give food to the needy

By Éilis Cronin in Industry News 22nd September 2021

Aldi is installing boxes for customers to donate food in stores nationwide.

From October stores will have the boxes for any food or essential items – regardless of where they were bought – which will be distributed to local good causes.

To help customers, the supermarket has provided a list of those things that are most in demand.

The top five are coffee, cereal, fruit juice, tinned meat and pasta or cooking sauces. The top 25 include baby food and nappies, pet food, toilet paper and feminine sanitary products (see full list below).

The donation boxes are being installed after Aldi’s commitment to donate 10 million meals in the UK in 2021, with the supermarket working with charity Neighbourly to donate surplus food every day.

Mary Dunn, managing director of corporate responsibility at Aldi UK, said: “This year, we are committed to donating more meals to those in need than ever before, and we know that our customers want to help too.

“This is why we are working with Neighbourly to extend our current donations scheme, making it easy for customers to donate food and essential supplies to those in need year-round.”

Steve Butterworth, from Neighbourly, added: “Customer donations can help make a real difference, and I’d encourage anyone who is able to get involved to do so.

“The list of most-needed items should help guide customers when deciding what to donate; however anything people can contribute will be a massive help.”

Top 25 most in-demand items