In a quest to get one million children across the UK to learn to prepare nutritious, affordable food meal options, Aldi has expanded its Get Set to Eat Fresh education programme partnership with Team GB and Paralympics GB.
The goal of the latest initiative is to have children ages 5-14 build skills necessary to cook healthy, low-cost meals by the end of 2024. Aldi already has gotten two million kids into the programme in the past seven years but wants to scale it up more quickly.
“Making healthy, great quality food accessible to everyone has always been at the heart of Aldi,” Liz Fox, Corporate Responsibility Director at Aldi, said. “With the help of our partners Team GB and Paralympics GB, we want to help more children learn vital cooking skills and inspire them with ideas for nutritious meals that don’t cost a fortune.”
Aldi plans to ramp the number of schools taking part in the effort, with athletes from Team GB and Paralympics GB helping to funnel tips on hearty, inexpensive meals and visit schools. Diver Jack Laugher and Paralympic rower Lauren Rowles have been two of the spokespeople that have lended their expertise to the campaign.
“Our athletes are passionate about helping to inspire the next generation, to get involved in sports, live healthier lives and to fulfil their ambitions,” Mike Sharrock, CEO at ParalympicsGB, said. “Through our network, we can ensure the Get Set To Eat Fresh programme is truly inclusive.”
The Get Set initiative has been going on for the past decade, since the 2012 London Summer Games, and got its kickstart in 2015 with athletes taking part in helping kids and their families. Now more than ever, with inflation and other factors putting the pinch on finances, this is needed.
“The Get Set to Eat Fresh programme has been a great way to engage and inspire young people around the topic of preparing and eating fresh and healthy food,” Andy Anson, CEO at Team GB, said. “The current cost of living is putting a major squeeze on families and so helping more children to cook healthy food within a budget has never been more important.”
Aldi also said it plans to increase the number of resources available for teachers, families.
