Aldi donates 14,500 meals to Edinburgh and Lothian charities on Christmas Eve

Supermarket chain helps those in need this festive period

Aldi supported local charities, community groups and foodbanks in Edinburgh and the Lothians on Christmas Eve by donating 14,530 meals to those in need.

Working with Neighbourly, the supermarket chain paired-up its stores with local charity partners in the area to collect unsold fresh and chilled food when stores closed early on December 24, with stores set to repeat the initiative on December 31.

Liz Fox, corporate responsibility director at Aldi UK, said: “We are incredibly proud to have supported so many amazing charities and community groups in Edinburgh and the Lothians this Christmas, helping them to provide warm and healthy festive meals to those in need.

Working with Neighbourly, Aldi paired up its stores with local charity partners in the area to collect unsold fresh and chilled food on Christmas Eve.

“We know that the festive period will have been a particularly challenging time for so many this year which is why we also launched our Emergency Foodbank Fund – allowing us to support even more organisations at a time of heightened demand.”

To further support local communities this year, Aldi’s Emergency Winter Foodbank Fund saw the supermarket also commit to donating £250,000 to charitable organisations throughout the winter season.

Steve Butterworth, from Neighbourly, added: “Christmas is always a busy time for charities and food banks, but this year was, without doubt, one of the busiest. The donations from Aldi are vital for so many people and we are really pleased to be working together to help those in need again this year.”

All of Aldi’s 980 UK stores donate surplus food to good causes, all year round, with over 27 million meals donated to good causes since its partnership with Neighbourly began back in 2019.