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Lidl is set to donate 3,000 Christmas dinners worth of festive food to charities tackling loneliness.

The move follows feedback from charities and projects that Lidl supports throughout the year, which said additional donations were needed for events designed to bring people together.

Donations will include 655kg of potatoes, 65kg of Brussels sprouts,26kg of cranberry sauce,282 turkeys, 4,700 pigs in blankets and 131 tubs of gravy granules, which will be donated to 131 organisations across the country.These will include homeless and community kitchens, and elderly social groups.

These products, which come in addition to the surplus food already donated by the supermarket year-round, will enable charities to cook a full Christmas dinner with all the trimmings.

Mark Newbold, CSR manager at Lidl UK, said: “It’s incredibly heartening to hear about all of the good causes that our food surplus goes towards through our national food redistribution programme, but we know that the Christmas period in particular can be a very difficult time for many people suffering from loneliness.

“This is why we wanted to give a bit extra to the communities and projects that our store teams support throughout the year, helping to bring people together.”

Nick Davies, founder of Neighbourly, added: 'At Christmas time, donating food is about more than providing meals – it's about making a special effort to include vulnerable people who for most of the year feel they don't belong.

“Lidl recognise thatChristmas dinner is too important to be left to chance and they should be applauded for listening to what's really happening in society and trying to do something about it.'

Lidl launched ‘Feed it Back’, its national food redistribution programme, in partnership with Neighbourly in January 2017. It has allowed each of its stores to connect with local charities and make direct donations of edible surplus food, with over two million meals provided to those in need.

Community projects interesting in partnering with a Lidl store should visit the Neighbourly website, call 0117 917 5311, or email lidl@neighbourly.com tofind out how to register.

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