In partnership with customers, Food Lion Feeds donated more than 152 million meals to feed food-insecure neighbors in 2021, deepening the omnichannel retailer’s commitment to nourish the towns and cities it serves.
Since 2014, Food Lion has donated more than 900 million meals through Food Lion Feeds, its hunger-relief initiative.
The donations come at a time when neighbors across Food Lion’s 10-state footprint continue to face challenges related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In parts of Food Lion’s footprint, as many as one in six people, including one in five children, are living in households without reliable access to food. Nationally, according to Feeding America®, more than 38 million people, including 12 million children, face food insecurity, and recent numbers indicate over 60 million people annually turn to food banks and community programs for help putting food on the table.
“Our neighbors are counting on us more than ever, and that’s why we’re doing everything we can to try to eliminate the difficult choices many of our neighbors are forced to make,” said Kevin Durkee, Manager, Food Lion Feeds. “Caring for the towns and cities we serve is core to everything we do, and we’re committed to fighting hunger and setting our neighbors up for success. We appreciate the partnership and dedication of our community partners, and they have our commitment that we will continue to do everything we can to continue our shared mission of fighting food insecurity.”
In 2021, more than 52 million meals alone were donated through Food Lion Feeds’ food rescue program, where every Food Lion store gives excess food to a local feeding agency for neighbors in need. Additionally, 30 million meals were donated in partnership with customers through Food Lion’s four annual in-store campaigns, where meal donations are connected to a customer’s purchase of a designated product or financial donation.
The remaining of the 152 million meals were donated through a combination of product, financial and equipment donations; disaster relief and recovery efforts; capital campaign support for feeding agencies; and volunteer hours by associates, based on various meal equivalent formulas.
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