Lidl says it will donate millions of meals to families in need over the school holidays - with help from shoppers. The food will be distributed through its charity partner Neighbourly.
It will see donations direct from Lidl stores, as well as customer donations through ‘Good to Give’ in a bid to combat school holiday hunger as children from families on low incomes are unable to access free school meals. The initiative was launched by the supermarket chain to increase the nutritional variety of the food provided to families in need.
Good to Give signs in stores highlight 30 products which have been selected for their nutritional value. They include tinned fruit, noodles, and brown rice.
Mark Newbold, Senior CSR Manager at Lidl GB said: "At Lidl, we recognise that the school holidays can be an extremely tough time for a number of families across the UK. Low income families, who have access to free school meals through term time, lose vital support during the school holidays, resulting in increased demand for donations.
"We are committed to continuing to go above and beyond for families who have a heightened need during this time. Our donations, through both Good To Give and surplus from our stores, are distributed through dedicated charity partners – we’re hugely thankful for all of their work.
"It remains a priority of ours to provide nutritious food to those in need and we look forward to continuing to do so in the future."
Lidl says the initiative will see an estimated 1.8 million meals donated. It follows the launch of its frozen food donation scheme, also in partnership with Neighbourly, which sees surplus food distributed to local charities.