A charity which tackles drug and alcohol addiction in North Lanarkshire has been given a helping hand by a Wishaw supermarket.

Betel, a self-funding drug addiction and treatment centre based in Motherwell, is for men, women and families affected by the hardships that lead to social exclusion, which also includes homelessness and long-term unemployment.

The independent Christian charity doesn’t receive government grants, and generates the majority of its funds through its own charitable businesses.

The organisation relies on donations from individuals and organisations to cover the remainder of its operating costs.

Aldi has stores in both Wishaw and Motherwell, and the supermarket giants have helped the charity by donating 7,800 meals from the two stores over the last year.

Tanya Weild, centre director of Betel Motherwell, said: “We have seen an increase in the number of people needing our support and we are extremely grateful for Aldi’s food donations, they have been such a help to the people and families we have been supporting this past year.”

The milestone marks the one-year anniversary of Aldi’s partnership with community engagement platform Neighbourly, which sees each Aldi store donate perishable items such as fresh fruit and veg as well as long life items and baked goods at the end of each day to local food banks and charities.

Since the beginning of the partnership, Aldi has donated over six million meals to good causes across the UK.

Fritz Walleczek, managing director of corporate responsibility at Aldi UK and Ireland, said: “We’re always looking for new and creative ways to put leftover food from our stores to good use.

“Our partnership with Betel Motherwell and other charities in the area is enabling us to distribute even more surplus stock to those who need it most.

“Our aim is for fresh, healthy food to be accessible for everyone, and our successful partnership with Neighbourly has enabled us to extend this commitment by supporting more charities and community groups across Scotland. We look forward to continuing this important work with them.”

Steve Butterworth, Neighbourly CEO, added: “Our partnership with Aldi has been a huge success over the past year, and we have plans to extend the programme further in the coming months, helping them to reduce more food waste and make a positive difference to the communities where they operate.”