Aldi has launched its festive food donations scheme, and aims to redistribute all excess fresh food to local charities from its 775 UK stores on Christmas Eve.

As part of the scheme, charities and good causes will be paired with local stores, and are able to collect perishable products such as fruit, vegetables, fresh meat, fish and bread after the store closes at 6pm on Christmas Eve.

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

Charities are being asked to contact Aldi’s Corporate Responsibility team before Sunday 18th November 2018 for further details.

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.”

The scheme is an extension of Aldi’s existing food donations partnerships, and the retailer works directly with FareShare and Company Shop throughout the year in a pledge to reduce operational food waste by 50% by 2030.