A new Aldi was opened by a celebrity face in Wiltshire yesterday morning (30 September).
The shiny new supermarket in Malmesbury was open to the public at 8am, with a red ribbon on the door cut by Team GB Olympic rower Anna Watkins MBE.
The Olympian, who won a gold medal in 2012, even gave away complimentary bags of fresh fruit and vegetables to the first 30 customers in the queue.
Anna then visited St Joseph Primary School as part of Aldi’s initiative, Get Set to Eat Fresh, to deliver an exclusive presentation to its pupils and inspire them to eat healthy fresh food, as well as her journey as an athlete.
The initiative has already inspired over 1.9 million schoolchildren aged 5-14 years to learn more about the benefits of cooking fresh, healthy food with their families.
The Festival Way store will be run by a store manager alongside 24 colleagues from the local community.
In addition, Aldi Malmesbury offered pupils at the local primary school the opportunity to win a £20 gift voucher to spend at the new store. Children at St Joseph’s Primary School were tasked with creating a poster to show what healthy eating means to them. Anna Watkins announced the winner, Ava aged 7, during the assembly and she was presented with their £20 voucher.
Store Manager Tom said: “It’s been a wonderful morning here at the opening of Aldi Malmesbury. It was lovely to welcome our new customers into store, and I look forward to meeting more of the community in the coming weeks. I’m also thrilled that we’ve been able to support St Joseph’s Primary School through our partnership with Team GB.”
Team GB hero Anna Watkins added: “I’ve had a fantastic time opening the new Aldi this morning. It was an honour to officially open the store and welcome customers inside for the first time.
“It was great to speak with the children at St Joseph’s Primary School about the importance of eating healthily and how it can be fun to plan and prepare meals as a family. Hopefully I’ve also managed to inspire the pupils to keep active and try different sports.”
The new store offers large chillers and freezers dedicated to fresh, British meat products, a ‘Food to Go’ section at the front of the store, and an exclusive section full of health and beauty products.
Additionally, Aldi is calling on local charities and food banks in Malmesbury to register with Neighbourly, a community engagement platform that links businesses to charitable organisations in the local community.
Local charities that register will be able to collect surplus food and perishable products, such as fruit, vegetables and baked goods, up to seven days a week. Any charities in the area that would like to partner up with the new Aldi store should email [email protected].
