BUDGET supermarket Aldi has provided more than 2,500 meals to charities within Dorset across the recent Easter break.

The retail giant paired its stores up with local charities, community groups and food banks to donate surplus food.

In total 2,736 meals were provided to people in need over the Easter school holidays.

Liz Fox, corporate responsibility director at Aldi UK, said: “The school holidays can be a busy time for the local charities and organisations we support, but, especially in the current climate, food banks are experiencing even greater demand than usual.

“We’re proud to support so many good causes in Dorset, helping them to provide meals to those in need over the recent school holidays.”

The donations followed research from Aldi and community-giving platform Neighbourly, which found that 96% of food banks in the south west have seen demand soar in 2022.

Neighbourly polled more than 700 food banks and community causes across the country and found that an estimated 36% of people using these services in the south west in recent months have been new to the food banks.

On average, food banks in the region reported an average rise in demand of around 29% for their services so far this year, with expectations of further increases of around 31% in the next three months as higher energy bills and an increase in national insurance contributions add to the pressure.

Steve Butterworth, from Neighbourly, added: “The findings of our latest survey highlight that the cost-of-living crisis is clearly deepening, with families and households up and down the country really starting to feel the pinch and turning to charities and local causes for support as a result.

“During what is a hard time for everyone, anything people can do to give back in the coming weeks will make all the difference.”

Around 105 tonnes of food were donated throughout the UK, with more than 187,000 meals expected to be donated to causes focused on supporting families and children.

Aldi has community donation points in stores nationwide to help those in need and is encouraging customers to help in any way they can.

Neighbourly reports that the most in-demand products at community groups include tinned food, tea and coffee, UHT milk, toiletries, and household cleaning products.