Aldi is asking local charities, community groups and foodbanks in Gloucestershire to sign up now to receive surplus food donations over the festive period.

In partnership with the community giving platform Neighbourly, the supermarket's UK stores partner with good causes across the country to donate surplus food year-round.

With all Aldi stores set to close on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day, the holiday season provides an opportunity for even more charities to benefit from the successful partnership.

Local charities will be paired with Aldi stores in Gloucestershire this Christmas and can collect fresh and chilled food products nearing the end of their shelf-life - with the supermarket pledging to donate over a million meals over the Christmas period.

This month, Aldi hit its 40 million meals milestone since partnering with Neighbourly back in 2019.

Liz Fox, national sustainability director at Aldi UK, said: "We know that many communities up and down the country continue to feel the impact of the rise in living costs. That's why we are committed to ensuring that the communities we provide for always get the support they need.

"We're proud to hit our 40 million meal milestone with Neighbourly. This is a huge achievement and motivates us to go further and supply even more meals to local charities."

Steve Butterworth, chief executive officer at Neighbourly, added: "Christmas can be a challenging time for some families, and we expect many more will depend on the services of local charities this year.

"We're sure there are lots more groups out there that could use the extra help that businesses like Aldi provide, so we encourage them to sign up."

Any groups that are interested in collecting unsold food at Christmas that are not currently working with Neighbourly can get in touch with them at aldichristmas@neighbourly.com by 10th November.

Customers also can donate any food or household products to local causes all year round through community donation points in all Aldi stores.