LIDL GB TO DONATE 1.8 MILLION MEALS IN 2023 TO HELP COMBAT SCHOOL HOLIDAY HUNGER FOR FAMILIES IN NEED

• Lidl GB has today revealed that it will donate an estimated 1.8m meals to families during the school holidays this year
• This includes Lidl’s own donations, as well as customer’s through its ongoing ‘Good to Give’ scheme
• The retailer has also launched a new frozen food donation scheme, expected to reduce food waste by 800 tonnes annually

27^th June 2023: Lidl has today revealed that it will donate an estimated 1.8 million meals to low-income families across the 2023 school holidays, to support the fight against holiday hunger in Great Britain*. The move comes against the backdrop of 31% of UK children living in poverty**.

The food will be distributed through Lidl’s charity network partner Neighbourly and other local organisations. It will include donations from its stores, as well as customer donations through ‘Good to Give’ – the discounter’s ongoing campaign to increase the nutritional variety of meals provided for families in need.

The supermarket’s longstanding pledge to help tackle food poverty has resulted in over 25 million meal donations overall since 2017.

Continuously looking for ways to go further, Lidl has most recently introduced a new frozen food donation scheme in partnership with Neighbourly, which sees a rapid supply of surplus limited time offer food distributed to local charities. This expansion of its existing food donation efforts will see even more support provided to low-income families and those in need throughout the school holidays.

The frozen food donation scheme has benefitted from Lidl store teams’ prior experience coordinating with local charities - and the donations are expected to save a huge 800 tonnes of food waste annually.

Mark Newbold, Senior CSR Manager at Lidl GB said: “At Lidl, we recognise that the school holidays can be an extremely tough time for a number of families across the UK. Low income familes, who have access to free school meals through term time, lose vital support during the school holidays, resulting in increased demand for donations. We are committed to continuing to go above and beyond for families who have a heightened need during this time.

“Our donations, through both Good To Give and surplus from our stores, are distributed through dedicated charity partners – we’re hugely thankful for all of their work. It remains a priority of ours to provide nutritious food to those in need and we look forward to continuing to do so in the future.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors

Data:

* Food Cycle – ‘What is Holiday Hunger?’ - link

**Joseph Rowntree, ‘UK Poverty 2022 – The essential guide to understanding poverty in the UK’

Press contact: lidl@wearetheromans.com

About Lidl GB

Since establishing itself in Great Britain in 1994, Lidl GB has experienced continuous growth and today has over 29,500 employees, over 950 stores and 13 distribution centres in England, Scotland and Wales.

As part of the Schwarz retail group, Lidl is one of Europe’s leading organisations in the food retail industry. The supermarket, which has more than 360,000 employees globally, currently operates approximately 12,000 stores and more than 200 warehouses and distribution centres in 31 countries.

The supermarket takes pride in providing its customers with the highest quality products at the lowest possible prices throughout Great Britain, from Kirkwall to the Isle of Wight. Social responsibility and sustainability are at the core of the company's daily operations, with the company placing a strong emphasis on its responsibility for people, society, and the environment. Lidl GB is passionate about working with British producers and sources two thirds of its products from British suppliers.

The Schwarz Group, which operates worldwide as a retail group, generated a turnover of €133.6 billion in the financial year 2021.

For more information about Lidl GB visit https://corporate.lidl.co.uk/