SUPERMARKET giant Aldi has launched an initiative to give unwanted food to community groups and charities.

Aldi is calling on food banks and charities across Taunton to register to received the free supplies.

Charities and food banks will be paired with stores to receive goods such as fruit, vegetables, fresh meat, fish and bread after the store closes at 6pm on Christmas Eve.

Fritz Walleczek, 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.”

Charities should contact Aldi’s corporate responsibility team at Christmas@aldi.co.uk before Sunday November 18 with the following details to apply:

• Organisation name

• Charity number

• Organisation focus (e.g. soup kitchen, food bank)

• Contact details

• The postcode of the 3 nearest Aldi stores (using the Aldi store finder - www.aldi.co.uk/store-finder)

All charities that apply must be able to collect, store and distribute fresh food. Each store can be partnered with one charity only, and the pairings will be allocated on a first come first served basis.

This initiative is an extension of Aldi’s existing food donations partnerships. The supermarket works directly with FareShare and Company Shop throughout the year and has also pledged to reduce operational food waste by 50 per cent by 2030 as part of the Friends of Champions 12.3 network.