Lidl launches Good to Give to ensure that ‘good food is accessible to everyone’

Lidl GB has launched the ‘Good to Give’ initiative to diversify and increase food donations, part of the discount supermarket‘s ongoing commitment to ensuring that “good food is accessible to everyone”.

The initiative – which is a first in the grocery industry – comes in response to the cost of living crisis, with over 9 in 10 charities believing that it will have a significant impact on the communities, food banks and other community groups they serve.

Good to Give has been rolled out nationwide across all Lidl GB stores and will highlight 30 carefully selected long-life items, offering a wide variety of nutritional benefits.

Shelf-edge point of sale will direct shoppers to the products which can then 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.

The Good to Give  ‘trustmark’ was developed by Lidl in consultation with Neighbourly – a platform that connects surplus food with local good causes. It comes 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.

Lidl worked closely with Neighbourly, using the NHS Eatwell Guide to identify 30 nutritious food items to make the Good to Give shopping list. The products selected include tinned fruit, lentils, mackerel, noodles and brown rice.

READ MORE: Food banks supplied 2.1 million parcels in past year 

“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,” said Lidl GB’s ceo Ryan McDonnell.

“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.”

According to Neighbourly ceo Steve Butterworth, the cost of living crisis is “causing steep rises in demand for food banks and front-line services”, something which is “only going to increase in the coming months”.

“With the launch of this new initiative, Lidl is demonstrating that it is truly committed to finding innovative ways to support customers and local communities,” he said.

Alongside the trustmark, Lidl has also launched a £500,000 ‘Lidl Community Fund’ to support its UK network of 1,500 charities, coordinated by Neighbourly. Organisations within the network can apply for investment to refurbish their food preparation or serving areas.

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