Aldi gives away 500 food vouchers to students this Freshers Week

The giveaway and how to enter

Source: Aldi UK, 16 September 2026.

Aldi announced on 16 September 2026 that it is giving away 5,000 pounds in shopping vouchers for Freshers Week. Under the promotion, 500 students will each win a 10 pound Aldi voucher to cover the cost of a basket of fresh fruit and vegetables. The total value of the giveaway is 5,000 pounds, and the number of individual winners is 500.

To enter, students email freshers@aldi.co.uk with their name and age from a valid UK university email address, plus the dish they plan to create with the voucher. The competition runs until midnight on Wednesday 7 October 2026. Terms and conditions are on the Aldi press centre. The press office can be reached on 0161 235 0300 or at aldi@citypress.co.uk.

Julie Ashfield, Chief Commercial Officer at Aldi UK, said: "Freshers Week is an exciting time, but whether students are leaving home for the first time or heading back after summer, building healthy routines on a budget can be a challenge." The giveaway is framed around that problem: the first shop of term, paid for before the first maintenance loan instalment has settled into a workable weekly rhythm.

Aldi's five tips, summarised

Aldi set out five tips alongside the giveaway, attributed to Julie Ashfield. The first is to freeze portions flat when freezer space is tight, which matters in shared kitchens where shelf and drawer space is divided between housemates. The second is to rotate three easy dinner bases such as jacket potato, pasta or stir-fry, so the same core ingredients can be reassembled into different meals across a week.

The third is to build a budget base basket of oats, rice, pasta, beans, lentils and eggs, then add fresh produce on top. These are the items that carry most of the calories in a student kitchen and they keep for long enough to survive a busy timetable. The fourth is to look out for Super 6 fruit and vegetable offers, which change every fortnight, so the fresh element of the basket can follow whatever is cheapest at the time.

The fifth is to use red sticker reductions and freeze what will not be eaten that day. Reduced items are usually short dated rather than spoiled, and freezing them on the day of purchase converts a same day discount into a meal for later in the week. Taken together, the five tips describe a system rather than a single shop: a base basket, a rotating set of meals, and a habit of buying fresh produce when it is discounted.

KT: what a term's food actually costs

Student food spending is typically the second largest cost after rent, which is why a 10 pound voucher is a small but pointed gesture. The way to read it is against the maintenance loan. The maximum for 2026/27 is published by Student Finance England and depends on household income and where the student lives. Most of the loan goes on accommodation, so the food budget is what remains divided by the weeks in term. That division is the number that matters, not the headline loan figure.

A realistic weekly grocery budget for one student cooking most meals runs roughly 25 to 40 pounds, depending on city and diet. A student in a cheaper city cooking from a base basket of oats, rice, pasta, beans, lentils and eggs can sit at the lower end. A student in London, or one buying more fresh produce, meat or specialist items, will sit at the upper end or above it. Over a ten week term, that range is roughly 250 to 400 pounds, which is the figure to set against whatever the loan leaves after rent is paid.

Prices are, at least, rising more slowly than the general price level. ONS consumer price inflation, published on 16 September 2026, put food and non-alcoholic beverages inflation at 1.3 percent in the year to August 2026, while CPI overall was 3.1 percent. For a student building a weekly budget, that gap means the food line is not the part of the budget under the most pressure this year, though it is still rising. The practical consequence is that a budget set in the first week of term will not be badly out of date by the end of it.

Other ways students cut the bill

Beyond the giveaway, several routes reduce the weekly food bill. TOTUM and Student Beans operate student discount schemes accepted by some supermarkets, so it is worth checking whether a card or app applies before paying full price. Supermarket loyalty schemes are a separate matter: they require the app or card to get the shelf price in some stores, so a student without the app can pay more for the same item without realising it.

Cooking in a group and splitting a shop lowers the cost per head, because larger packs are usually cheaper per unit and shared meals reduce waste. A student bank account's overdraft terms are worth checking before relying on it, since the interest free period and the limit both vary by account and by year of study. An overdraft is borrowed money, not income, and it has to be cleared.

The university hardship fund is the option most often overlooked. It is a grant awarded by the institution and usually does not have to be repaid, which makes it different in kind from a loan or an overdraft. Students who are struggling after the loan has gone on rent can ask the university directly. The Aldi giveaway, by contrast, is a small one off: 500 vouchers of 10 pounds each, entered by email before midnight on Wednesday 7 October 2026.

Source: Aldi press centre, 16 September 2026.

Related coverage on Kael Tripton: Student Finance Dates: When to Apply, What Evidence You Need and When the Money Arrives, How Much Student Finance Will I Get? Tuition Loans, Maintenance Loans and Household Income, Student Bank Accounts and Credit in the UK for International Students, Best student bank accounts UK 2026, Maintenance Loan Calculator UK 2025/26: Amounts, Thresholds and Repayment.

Frequently asked questions

How many students will win an Aldi voucher?

500 students will each win a 10 pound Aldi voucher, giving a total giveaway value of 5,000 pounds.

What can the voucher be used for?

Each 10 pound voucher is intended to cover the cost of a basket of fresh fruit and vegetables.

How do students enter the Aldi Freshers Week giveaway?

By emailing freshers@aldi.co.uk with their name and age from a valid UK university email address, plus the dish they plan to create with the voucher.

When does the competition close?

The competition runs until midnight on Wednesday 7 October 2026. Terms and conditions are on the Aldi press centre.

What is a realistic weekly food budget for a student?

Roughly 25 to 40 pounds for one student cooking most meals, depending on city and diet. Over a ten week term that is around 250 to 400 pounds.