THOUSANDS of meals were donated to Cumbrians in need by a supermarket chain this summer.

Aldi supported charities in Cumbria during the school summer holidays, donating more than 3,290 meals to those facing hardship.

The supermarket paired its stores up with local charities, foodbanks and community groups via community giving platform Neighbourly to donate surplus food to good causes.

Around 700,000 meals were donated throughout the UK, with hundreds of UK causes benefitting from the initiative.

READ MORE: Dave Myers reminisces over time on Top of the Pops - and doing Elton John's makeup

Since the partnership with Neighbourly began in 2019, Aldi’s UK stores have already donated more than 25 million meals to 3,600 local causes.

Liz Fox, Corporate Responsibility Director at Aldi UK, 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 Cumbria over the school holidays, helping them to provide meals to those who needed them most.”

READ MORE: Music venue reveals new name after change in ownership

Steve Butterworth, from Neighbourly, said: “School holidays are often a time when demand on charities and foodbanks drastically increases, particularly during summer when children are at home for six weeks or more. This push in donations from Aldi was therefore essential in helping these organisations support families during this time.”