Paralympic gold medallist Aaron Phipps officially opens new Aldi store at Little Testwood Farm in Totton

A POPULAR budget supermarket’s newest store has been officially opened in a New Forest town thanks to a Paralympian.

German retailer Aldi welcomed customers to the store at Little Testwood Farm in Totton last Thursday after a ribbon cutting ceremony by wheelchair rugby gold medallist Aaron Phipps, who lives in the town.

As well as giving away complimentary bags of fresh fruit and vegetables from Aldi’s famous Super 6 range to the first 30 customers in the queue, Aaron delivered an inspirational assembly for pupils at Calmore Infant School as part of the supermarket’s initiative, Get Set to Eat Fresh, which aims to inspire children to learn about the benefits of cooking fresh, healthy food with their families.

Pupils had earlier entered a competition to win a gift card for the store by creating a poster to show what healthy eating meant to them. Aaron announced the winner during the assembly and presented Olivia Carter with her prize.

Aaron said he had “a fantastic time” at the new supermarket, which has employed 24 members of staff, adding: “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 Calmore Infant 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.”

Store manager Dan Jollie added: “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 Calmore Infant School through our partnership with ParalympicsGB.”

The new store offers large chillers and freezers dedicated to British meat products, a ‘Food to Go’ section at the front and an exclusive section full of health and beauty products.

Each Thursday and Sunday the store will also feature its popular Specialbuys offers.

Local charities and food banks registered with Neighbourly will be able to collect surplus food and perishable products from the store. For more details email aldi@neighbourly.com