Aldi is donating surplus food on Christmas Eve to vulnerable people who are in need.

As part of the annual festive initiative, charities and community groups from around the UK have been called upon to collect food donations from the supermarket's branches.

From 6pm on Christmas Eve, the organisations involved can collect fresh food products from the stores that are nearing the end of their shelf life, including fruit, vegetables, fish, bread and fresh meat.

In 2018, just under half a million meals were donated by Aldi to charities across the country for Christmas.

"Our Christmas food donation scheme is something we're really passionate about, and we're working with Neighbourly this year to pair as many stores up as possible," said Fritz Walleczek, managing director of corporate responsibility at Aldi UK.

"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.

"This is our third year of Christmas food donations and we're hoping this year will be just as successful, and we look forward to working with local charities and food banks in the future."

Earlier this year, Aldi launched a new partnership with Neighbourly, a platform that links large businesses with local charitable organisations.

The supermarket states that 95 per cent of its branches now donate surplus food throughout the entire year, five days a week.

All of the groups who applied by the 11 November deadline to pick up free food were required to have obtained a level 2 hygiene certificate within the last two years, to be a registered charity, community interest company (CIC) or community group, and to be able to collect, transport and store chilled food products.

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