THOUSANDS of meals were donated to Blackburn charities over the Christmas period by a leading supermarket.

Aldi embraced the season of goodwill by donating 2,647 meals to people in need across the town on Christmas Eve.

The supermarket paired with local charities and food banks to make the most of unsold fresh food after shops closed on December 24.

Around 185 tonnes of food were donated across the country, with more than 440,000 meals donated and over 500 UK charities benefitting from the initiative in total.

This follows on from a partnership between Aldi and Neighbourly, a community engagement platform that links businesses to key charitable organisations. T

he initiative was rolled out to all UK stores earlier this year and Aldi has now paired up four stores in Blackburn with local good causes, that are now collecting surplus food up to five days a week, all year round.

Fritz Walleczek, Managing Director of Corporate Responsibility said: “By donating fresh food such as bread, fruit, vegetables and meat we’ve been able to support charities in providing warm and healthy festive meals this Christmas season."