A SUPERMARKET giant partnered up with charities across Essex to ensure thousands of families would not go hungry during the school holidays.

Aldi, which has stores in Colchester, Clacton, Witham, Maldon and Southend, donated more than 3,800 meals to those in need in the county during the summer break.

In order to accommodate the mass distribution, the discount chain paired with local organisations, foodbanks and community groups.

Connecting through the community giving platform Neighbourly, the operation meant the supermarket was also to donate surplus food at a tough time for Essex families.

In total, about 700,000 meals were handed over by Aldi to people living throughout the UK, with hundreds of causes benefitting from the initiative.

Liz Fox, corporate responsibility director at Aldi, said: “Our food donations scheme with Neighbourly operates year-round.

“But we know that school holidays are a particularly hard time for families, especially as many continue to experience greater hardship due to the cost-of-living crisis.

“This is why we committed to supporting even more amazing causes in Essex over the school holidays, helping them to provide meals to those who needed them most.”

Steve Butterworth, from Neighbourly, added: “School holidays are often a time when demand on charities and foodbanks drastically increases.

“This push in donations from Aldi was therefore essential in helping these organisations support families during this time.”