Dear Customer, | Lidl GB exists to make good food accessible to everyone and now, more than ever, it’s important that we stay true to this commitment. I firmly believe that as a growing retailer we have a responsibility to those in the local communities we serve, and I want you to know that we are doing all we can to lessen the squeeze on household budgets that everyone is currently experiencing.
In fact, just yesterday, Which? recognised us as the cheapest supermarket for the 5th consecutive month, meaning that no other supermarket has beaten us on price this year - the year when it matters most.
Whilst maintaining our commitments to you, our customers, we also remain mindful of our responsibility for supporting those who have been and will be impacted most by the cost of living crisis. Through our Feed it Back scheme we’ve been able to support community organisations up and down the country who are helping to put food on the tables of the most vulnerable people in our society.
I, therefore, wanted to take the opportunity to thank each and every one of you that has donated food directly through the scheme, via our in-store food donation boxes; the generosity our customers show day in and day out is overwhelming. Your donations, combined with ours, are helping to provide five million meals a year to families and communities across the country. In partnership with Neighbourly, we work with over 1,300 charities and groups to get help to those who need it most. Whether it’s meals made from surplus food cooked in ‘pay-as-you-feel’ cafés, food packs for families or weekly cupboard essentials, there’s no limit to the reach and impact we can have together.
We’ve been listening to feedback from our charity partners on how we can better help them and the incredible work they are doing to support people in our communities at this time. Through these conversations it became clear that we needed to help address two key issues: varied diets for those using foodbanks and financial support to enable community projects to grow and better serve those in need.
I am so proud to tell you that in collaboration with Neighbourly, we have launched a new initiative called ‘Good to Give’. We discovered that those relying on food banks aren’t always getting the varied food products that they need to enjoy a nutritious, balanced diet. Therefore, next time you are in store, you will find the Lidl Trustmark on 30 selected items that have been chosen with Neighbourly for donation to Food Banks and other community groups. These items are modelled on the Eatwell plate, in the hope of providing a more balanced diet to those who need it most in your local community.
In addition, we’ve set up a £500,000 fund to support between 1,000 - 3,000 community projects. The funds will be released as grants of between £200 and £5,000, to support projects that are tackling food poverty in their communities. This could be funding direct access to food, improving food storage, or refurbishing food preparation and serving areas.
Furthermore, with every new store that we open, our teams are partnering with even more good causes to donate surplus food. If you, or anyone you know works with a charity, community group or school near one of our stores and would like to explore the option of working together, you can get in touch with the team via lidl@neighbourly.com.
Finally, I’d like to once again take this opportunity to extend my heartfelt thanks to you, our customers, for your continued support.
Best wishes,
Ryan McDonnell Chief Executive Officer Lidl Great Britain Limited |
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