Lidl launches Good to Give label to aid food bank donations

The new label will be trialled for six months Credit: Lidl

UK supermarket Lidl has launched a “Good to Give” label in its stores to help shoppers identify which items would be ideal to donate to local food banks. The products can be dropped off 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.

In what Lidl has called an industry first, the Good to Give label has been placed on 30 items that have been identified in partnership with charity Neighbourly and the NHS Eatwell Guide, and includes products such as basmati rice, tinned tomatoes, carrots and tinned fruits.

The “trustmark”, as Lidl calls it, was developed after Neighbourly research reported 87 percent of charities needed a greater variety of food types to be donated as the cost-of-living crisis continues to worsen.

“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 Ryan McDonnell, Chief Executive Officer at Lidl GB.

“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.”

Alongside the trustmark, Lidl has launched its £500,000 ‘Lidl Community Fund’ to support of its UK network of 1,500 charities coordinated by Neighbourly. Organisations within Lidl’s network can apply on a quarterly basis for investment in refurbishment of food preparation or food serving areas, improvement of food storage capabilities and direct access to food products.

“Through our work with local charities and good causes, supported by our latest community insights surveys, we can see how the cost-of-living crisis is causing steep rises in demand for food banks and front-line services. This is only going to increase in the coming months,” added Neighbourly CEO Steve Butterworth.

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