ALDI has helped a charity in Ellesmere Port to provide more than 49,000 meals to vulnerable people in the area during the past year.

The Port Grocery CIC, based in the town, has been receiving donations of fresh food from five Aldi stores across the region each week.

These are redistributed to its members to benefit the local community. The group also runs a free weekly community lunch, providing more than 200 hot meals for local residents.

Rita Lewis, from The Port Grocery, said: “We’re seeing more people across Cheshire 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 poverty and food waste 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 as well as 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 The Port Grocery CIC 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 North West. 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.”