Aldi has launched an Adult’s Breakfast Club for Scottish parents who are being forced to skip meals in a bid to feed their children during the cost of living crisis. The supermarket giant has now donated 10 tonnes of cereal and 5,000 gallons of milk to food banks across the country, including a community centre in Bathgate, West Lothian.
New research has found that one in every four parents from lower income families north of the border are skipping meals to ensure their kids have enough to eat - with breakfast being the most commonly missed. More than a third of families surveyed say they are now facing more financial pressure to feed their whole family now than compared to six months ago.
While 23 percent of parents say they are now buying less food than they were last year - with the biggest cutbacks including key breakfast items such as butter, milk and cereal. A further 20 percent of parents fear they’ll have to start using food banks between now and September - while 17 percent already do.
Ahead of the Easter holidays, Aldi and their charity partner Neighbourly, are calling on customers to help their hunger busting efforts by donating £5 which will provide 30 breakfast meals. Liz Fox, Corporate Responsibility Director at Aldi UK comments: “We believe that having access to healthy food should be a right, not a privilege.
“The thought that parents are having to skip meals to ensure their children can eat is terrible. Our partnership with Neighbourly to donate surplus food from our stores helps to support the communities where we operate, but we want to be able to help parents too.
“We hope the Adult Breakfast Club will help provide everyday breakfast essentials to parents who otherwise would be going without.” Steve Butterworth, CEO of Neighbourly, added: “We are now seeing the real-world effects of the cost-of-living-crisis, and this is what it looks like.
“Parents sitting with empty, or half-empty, plates at mealtimes to ensure their children have enough food. Creating a dedicated Breakfast Club to ensure these parents are getting the nutrients they need and deserve is a brilliant initiative and one we hope will make a tangible difference in our community.”
Aldi also vowed to double down on its existing donations to local schools during term time after almost a third of parents surveyed said they rely on their children being given breakfast at school.
To find out more about the Aldi Adult’s Breakfast Club or to donate, please click here.
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