Words by Smiley Team
Joining forces with footballer Marcus Rashford and philanthropic platform Neighbourly, the supermarket, Aldi, has pledged to donate 10 million meals to families in need in 2021.
This vital project was launched with an emotive animation called the ‘Hungry Monster,’ narrated by Rashford as part of his campaign work, and illustrated by Lisa Stickley. The video personifies the concept of hunger through a child’s eyes, bringing to life its devastating effects with a poem by Giles Andreae.
Rashford said: “Reading the script for the Aldi animation I felt like I was talking about myself 10 years ago. This story is a reality for millions of children so, of course, I was happy to lend my voice. Aldi has continued to take active steps to combat the issue of child food poverty and I would encourage everyone to get involved in their pledge to donate 10 million meals. 2021 is a time to level the playing field once-and-for-all.”
Child food poverty has seen a dramatic increase due to the pandemic and the problem is only expected to get worse, with over nine in ten charity professionals anticipating that the demand for food provisions for hungry children, will continue to rise in 2021.
Charities believe the demand for food provision has increased by as much as 71 per cent in the past six months, with 96 per cent of the children they support missing meals at least once a week, 42 per cent going without food three times a week and a shocking 14 per cent missing a meal every single day.
Giles Hurley, Chief Executive Officer at Aldi UK and Ireland, said: “At Aldi, we’re making it our mission to fight against child food poverty as no child should ever go hungry. Not only are we pledging to donate 10 million meals throughout 2021 to families that need it, but this campaign also aims to help raise awareness of the increasing number of families struggling to put food on the table.”
Neighbourly CEO, Steve Butterworth, added: “We are thrilled to be working with Aldi to further its commitment to supporting local communities and help make a dent in the UK’s hunger epidemic. I know first-hand the vast number of children that rely on our local charity partners in order to go to bed without an empty stomach, and this commitment will go a long way for the families who are struggling to put food on the table.”
If you work for a company that might be interested in supporting valuable initiatives such as these, you can join Aldi by signing up to Neighbourly, an organisation that links businesses to the most effective charitable organisations in local communities.
To do so simply fill in a business enquiry form on their website.
For more information about Aldi’s initiative and to donate visit their website.
