Lidl has become the first major supermarket in the UK to introduce a new label in stores that will help those who are struggling to pay for their food.
In an industry first, the supermarket has launched the 'Good To Give' trustmark which aims to diversify the donations to UK food banks.
Starting from today, shoppers looking to donate to food banks can find the labelled food on shelves across all Lidl stores in the UK.
The signage will feature on 30 products across all Lidl GB stores, including tinned fruit, noodles and veg - and it will help those who rely on food banks to get the balanced diet they need.
The initiative will highlight carefully selected long-life items that offer a greater variety of nutritional benefits and which can be dropped at food donation points located past the checkouts in Lidl stores. The items will then be collected regularly by local food banks and community projects.
Lidl GB launched the new trustmark as a response to the cost of living crisis, with over 9 in 10 charities believing that it will have a significant impact on their organisation and the communities that they serve.
The ‘trustmark’ was developed by Lidl in consultation with Neighbourly - a platform that connects surplus food with local good causes – after 87% of charities reported needing a greater range of food types to be donated to help those in need have a healthy, balanced diet.
Through the partnership with Neighbourly, Lidl has identified 30 food items that are ‘Good to Give’, modelled on the NHS Eatwell Guide.
The products selected include tinned fruit, lentils, mackerel, noodles, and brown rice. The launch is an industry first and forms part of Lidl’s ongoing commitment to ensuring that good food is accessible to everyone, especially at a time of financial uncertainty.
Ryan McDonnell, Chief Executive Officer at Lidl GB, said: “At Lidl, we’re committed to making good food accessible to everyone and now, more than ever, it’s important that we stay true to this.
We’ve been listening to feedback from our charity partners on how we can best support them at this time.
Through these conversations it became clear we can play a leading role in helping those relying on food banks to maintain a more nutritious, balanced diet by encouraging our customers to donate a little differently.
We hope that more retailers will adopt the ‘Trustmark’ so that we can work together as an industry to help more people access the balanced and nutritious diet that they need.”
Steve Butterworth, CEO of Neighbourly, added: "Through our work with local charities and good causes, supported by our latest community insights surveys, we can see how the cost of living crisis is causing steep rises in demand for food banks and front-line services.
This is only going to increase in the coming months. With the launch of this new initiative, Lidl is demonstrating that they are truly committed to finding innovative ways to support their customers and local communities.”
Lidl has also launched its £500,000 ‘Lidl Community Fund’ to support of its UK network of 1,500 charities coordinated by Neighbourly. Organisations within Lidl’s network can apply on a quarterly basis for investment in refurbishment of food preparation or food serving areas, improvement of food storage capabilities and direct access to food products.
The full list of Good To Give items is:
- Freshona Pickled Gherkins Reduced Salt 720ml
- Italian Cherry Tomatoes 425ml
- Freshona Crinkle Cut Beetroot Salt Reduced 720ml
- Freshona Marrowfat Processed Peas 300g
- Freshona Sweetcorn Super Sweet 425ml
- Freshona Garden Peas 425ml
- Freshona Sliced Mushrooms 314ml
- Freshona Petit Pois & Baby Carrots 425ml
- Freshona Pineapple Slices in Juice 580ml
- Freshona Mandarin Segments in Juice 314ml
- Crownfield Wholegrain Mini Wheats 500g
- Crownfield Wheat Biscuits (36) 720g
- Taste Of… Basmati Rice 1kg
- Taste Of… Brown Rice 1kg
- Langkorn Long Grain Rice 1kg
- Simply Peeled Potatoes 580ml
- Rowan Hill Bakery Part Baked Rolls 300g
- Rowan Hill Bakery Burger Buns 6 Piece 300g
- Couscous 1kg
- Vitasia Medium Ready to Wok Noodles
- Freshona Cannellini Beans / Butter Beans 400g
- Nixe Skipjack Tuna 400g
- Freshona Red Kidney Beans 425ml
- Freshona Chickpeas in Water 425ml
- Freshona Mixed Beans in Water 425ml
- Nixe Mackerel in Sunflower Oil 125ml
- Tower Gate All Butter Shortbread Fingers 210g
- Tower Gate Choclate Chip cookies 200g
- Dairy Manor UHT Semi Skimmed Milk 1.5% 1l
Vemondo Oat Milk 1l
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