Falkirk charities are urged to join Aldi's festive fresh fare scheme

The firm aims to redistribute all surplus fresh food from its stores to local charities on Christmas Eve.

Charities and good causes will be paired with local stores and can collect perishable products such as fruit, vegetables, fresh meat, fish and bread after the store closes at 6pm.

Aldi is hoping this year’s scheme will surpass the 450,000 meals donated to more than 300 charities across the UK last Christmas.

All charities that apply must be able to collect, store and distribute fresh food.

Each store can be partnered with just one charity, and the pairings will be allocated on a first come first served basis.

Fritz Walleczek, the firm’s managing director of corporate responsibility, said: “We’re starting our festive donations scheme even earlier this year to give as many charities as possible the opportunity to apply.

“We want to give something back to the communities that we serve at such an important time of year.

“Last year we were able to reach thousands of people across the UK, and some charities were even able to prepare fresh meals that fed families well into the New Year.”

The scheme is an extension of Aldi’s existing food donations partnerships.

Charities should contact Aldi’s Corporate Responsibility team at [email protected] before Sunday, November 18, with the following details to apply:

*Organisation name

*Charity number

*Organisation focus (eg soup kitchen, food bank)

*Contact details

*The postcode of the three nearest Aldi stores (use the Aldi store finder - https://www.aldi.co.uk/store-finder)