Lidl investing over €5m in Wexford food

THE VALUE of Lidl Ireland’s investment in County Wexford was highlighted in the 2018 IMPACT report which shows that over €5m of the agri-food produce in the stores is sourced from Wexford-based suppliers.

The study, which follows an economic report commissioned in recent years to quantify the contribution Lidl makes to the Irish economy, goes beyond the economic statistics to identify the additional impact Lidl is having locally in the context of its commitment to its corporate social responsibility programme, ‘A Better Tomorrow’.

In addition to the local suppliers figure, the report highlighted that over 80 people were employed in Lidl’s four Wexford stores; 8,000 meals were donated through a nationwide initiative with Food Cloud ; six charities and local community groups working with Lidl and FoodCloud were supported in the county, benefiting from €11,000 in-kind donations to FoodCloud.

In addition to that, €14,000 was raised for Jigsaw, Lidl’s charity partner which provides mental health support to young people; €1,600 was donated to local charities and community groups, and four local Ladies Gaelic Football clubs benefited from new equipment under the Ladies Gaelic Football partnership.

Lidl’s work with FoodCloud has reduced almost 4,000 kilos of food that otherwise would have been diverted to landfill.

Commenting on the study JP Scally, Managing Director, Lidl Ireland said: ‘In recent years we commissioned an independent economic report to assess the contribution Lidl had made to Ireland’s economy which found that Lidl supports thousands of indirect jobs throughout Ireland in the agri-food sector based on the €700m food and drink we purchase every year from hundreds of Irish suppliers.

‘However, we believe our contribution goes much deeper than that in the impact it has on communities – everything from our sustainable energy initiatives to the money raised for local good causes and from the benefits of the Jigsaw and LGFA partnerships to the number of meals donated to FoodCloud.’

Iseult Ward, co-founder and CEO of FoodCloud said: ‘In less than two years, Lidl Ireland has helped over 300 charities nationwide, including six in County Wexford, rescuing surplus food from stores that might otherwise have gone to waste. This food represents the equivalent of over €1m in savings to the charity sector nationwide which is an incredible achievement.’