More than 10,000 meals donated to vulnerable people in Shrewsbury thanks to supermarket partnership
A supermarket has helped a charity in Shrewsbury provide more than 10,000 meals to vulnerable people in the area during the past year.
Shrewsbury Food Hub has received donations of fresh food from the Aldi stores on Arlington Way and Otley Road.
The Food Hub collects surplus food and redistributes it to 62 community groups, including Shrewsbury Food Bank, Shropshire Mind and nine schools.
Brenda Fairley, supply co-ordinator from Shrewsbury Food Hub, said: “We really appreciate the care that Aldi staff take to ensure that surplus food is passed onto us in good condition, and their generosity in giving us extras like Easter Eggs which we shared with our nine partner schools.
“We rely on the generosity of others, and Aldi’s regular donations are helping us to do even more to tackle food waste and to support our community in the area.
"Surplus food helps to reduce the food budget of organisations like Shrewsbury Ark. It also supports foodshares run by our partners like Martin Wilson School. We look forward to continuing our partnership with Aldi.”
Creative
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 more than 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 Shrewsbury Food Hub 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 the West Midlands. 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.”
