Lidl launches new food label to help struggling families with cost of living crisis

In a UK first, Lidl has introduced unique labels to help those who are struggling with the cost of living crisis. 

The budget supermarket has launched the ‘Good To Give’ scheme, which aims to diversify the food donations being given to struggling families.

Under the new incentive, shoppers wanting to donate to food banks will be able to find the new Good to Give label on thirty different items across all Lidl stores in the UK.

The label, found on everyday products such as canned beans, fruit, bread, cereals and rice, will highlight long-life items that offer a greater variety of nutritional benefits, and are therefore more helpful to donate.

Lidl

Once picked by a shopper, these items will be able to be dropped off at food donation points located past the checkouts in Lidl stores, where they will later be delivered to nearby food banks by the supermarket.

The Good To Give incentive was developed by Lidl in consultation with Neighbourly, a platform that connects surplus food with local good causes.

It comes after a massive 87% of charities reported needing a greater range of food types to be donated to help food bank users have a healthy and balanced diet.

Ryan McDonnell, chief executive officer at Lidl GB, said of the new scheme: “At Lidl, we’re committed to making good food accessible to everyone and now, more than ever, it’s important that we stay true to this.

“We’ve been listening to feedback from our charity partners on how we can best support them at this time.

Lidl

“Through these conversations it became clear we can play a leading role in helping those relying on food banks to maintain a more nutritious, balanced diet by encouraging our customers to donate a little differently.

“We hope that more retailers will adopt the ‘Trustmark’ so that we can work together as an industry to help more people access the balanced and nutritious diet that they need.”

Steve Butterworth, CEO of Neighbourly, added: “Through our work with local charities and good causes, supported by our latest community insights surveys, we can see how the cost of living crisis is causing steep rises in demand for food banks and front-line services.

“This is only going to increase in the coming months. With the launch of this new initiative, Lidl is demonstrating that they are truly committed to finding innovative ways to support their customers and local communities.”

You can find out more about the Good to Give scheme and which products are included over on the Lidl website.