Yvonne Connolly and Iseult Ward, CEO and Co-Founder of FoodCloud, pictured at the announcement of Lidl Northern Ireland’s commitment to donate 250,000 meals by 2020.

Yvonne Connolly and Iseult Ward, CEO and Co-Founder of FoodCloud, pictured at the announcement of Lidl Northern Ireland’s commitment to donate 250,000 meals by 2020.

Lidl Northern Ireland has committed to donate 250,000 meals to Northern Ireland charities by 2020 in conjunction with FoodCloud, and local groups such as The Salvation Army in Newtownards and Dundonald, Grace Generational Church in Banbridge, The Pantry Food Bank in Newcastle and the West Winds Development Association and The Link Family Community Centre in Newtownards are set to benefit from the initiative. With 1 in 8 people across the island of Ireland experiencing food poverty, this partnership will see all 38 Lidl stores in Northern Ireland, including a warehouse, partnered with local charities who will benefit from the store’s surplus food.

FoodCloud and FoodCloud Hubs are social enterprises that connect retailers and suppliers to hundreds of local charities to redistribute surplus food via a software platform. Started in 2012, FoodCloud’s vision is for a world where no good food goes to waste. Surplus food refers to food that is perfectly good to eat, but for one reason or another, cannot be sold and would otherwise go to waste.

The redistribution of surplus food allows charities to relocate funding, that would otherwise have been spent on food, towards their core service and support their underlying mission. This redistribution allows Lidl Northern Ireland to contribute to local communities while also reducing the worldwide statistic that 30% of food produced is going to waste.

Deirdre Ryan, Head of CSR for Lidl Northern Ireland commented; “The rollout of a national food redistribution programme supports our objective to reduce food waste and positively contribute to the communities in which we operate. Working with FoodCloud enables Lidl to connect with hundreds of charities across Northern Ireland and support them in a meaningful way. The feedback we have received to date has been fantastic and our store teams are extremely engaged with the project.”

Iseult Ward, Co-Founder and CEO of FoodCloud, added: “We're very proud to be working with Lidl Northern Ireland. They have become a fundamental component in our capacity to help more than 300 charities across Ireland and in helping us ensure no good food goes to waste. Each Lidl store is making a big difference to local charities and the food supplied is having a positive impact both on the people who receive the food and the charities who can spend funds on other important elements to help people. Each food donation represents a financial saving to the charity and a positive boost to our environment by reducing waste. Lidl Northern Ireland will help us reach more communities and charities right across Northern Ireland and we look forward to working with their local stores across Northern Ireland.”