Team GB medal winner helps open new Shrewsbury Aldi store

The Battlefield Road store is the newest Aldi to open in Shrewsbury and will be run by Store Manager Robert Birch, along with a team of 35 colleagues from the local community.

Team GB silver medallist Victoria Thornley gave away complimentary bags of fresh fruit and vegetables from Aldi’s famous Super 6 range to the first 30 customers in the queue after the store opened at 8am.

Olympian school assembly

Victoria is also set to deliver an inspirational virtual assembly for pupils at Harlescott Junior School as part of the supermarket’s initiative, Get Set to Eat Fresh - which has already inspired over two million school children aged 5-14 years to learn more about the benefits of cooking fresh, healthy food with their families.

As Aldi has been fuelling Team GB with fresh, healthy food since 2015 through monthly vouchers, the silver medallist from Rio 2016 will focus on the benefits of eating healthy food and the importance of exercise and believing in yourself.

She will also talk to pupils about her experience of competing as an Olympian and share her challenging training regime.

Aldi Battlefield Road has also offered pupils at the local primary school the opportunity to win a £20 gift voucher to spend at the new store. Children at Harlescott Junior School have been tasked with creating a poster to show what healthy eating means to them. Victoria will announce the winner during the virtual assembly.

'A wonderful morning'

Store Manager Robert Birch said: “It’s been a wonderful morning here at the opening of Aldi Battlefield Road. 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 Harlescott Junior School through our partnership with Team GB.”

Team GB star Victoria Thornley 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.

“I am looking forward to speaking with the children at Harlescott Junior School about the importance of eating healthily and how it can be fun to plan and prepare meals as a family. Hopefully I will also manage to inspire the pupils to keep active and try different sports.”

The new Aldi 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 & Beauty products.

Helping local charities

The new Aldi store is calling on local charities and food banks in Shrewsbury 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, seven days a week.

Any charities in the area that would like to partner up with the new Aldi store should email: aldi@neighbourly.com.

Opening times and location

The new store is located on Battlefield Road, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, SY1 4AQ and will be open Monday - Saturday: 08:00 - 22:00 and Sunday: 10:00 - 16:00.