Supermarket giant Aldi has helped a Pudsey charity provide more than 61,000 meals to vulnerable people in the area during the past year.
Food Revival, in partnership with Rethink Food, has been receiving donations of fresh food from Aldi stores across Leeds and Bradford each week throughout the past year.
The charity, based at the Grangefield Industrial Estate, has been redistributing the produce to primary schools and families throughout the area as part of the Rethink Food Education programme.
This work has supported families to live more food-secure lives and at the same time highlight a number of environmental issues associated with the food cycle.
Chris Green, Company Director from Food Revival, said:
“We’re seeing more people across West Yorkshire turning to us for support, and we are working hard to ensure that no one in the area has to go without food.
“We rely on the generosity of others, and Aldi’s regular donations are helping us to do even more to tackle food waste and food poverty in the area. We look forward to continuing our partnership with them.”
The milestone marks the one-year anniversary of Aldi’s partnership with community engagement platform Neighbourly, which sees each store donate perishable items such as fresh fruit and veg, long-life items and baked goods at the end of each day to local food banks and charities.
Since the beginning of the partnership, Aldi has donated over six million meals to good causes across the UK.
Fritz Walleczek, Managing Director of Corporate Responsibility at Aldi UK and Ireland, said:
“We’re always looking for new and creative ways to put leftover food from our stores to good use. Our partnership with Food Revival and other charities in the area is enabling us to distribute even more surplus stock to those who need it most.
“Our aim is for fresh, healthy food to be accessible for everyone, and our successful partnership with Neighbourly has enabled us to extend this commitment by supporting more charities and community groups across Yorkshire. We look forward to continuing this important work with them.”
Steve Butterworth, Neighbourly CEO said: “Our partnership with Aldi has been a huge success over the past year, and we have plans to extend the programme further in the coming months, helping them to reduce more food waste and make a positive difference to the communities where they operate.”