One in eight Americans in communities across the U.S. struggle with hunger, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, including more than 77,000 people in North Central Indiana. To raise awareness and combat the issue, Walmart, Sam’s Club, Feeding America® and Food Finders Food Bank are kicking off its sixth annual nationwide “Fight Hunger. Spark Change.” (FHSC) campaign, which will run from April 22 to May 20.
In partnership with Food Finders Food Bank, Walmart and Sam’s Club now invite Clinton County shoppers to help fight hunger in their local community. There are three ways to participate – purchasing a participating item in-store or online, donating in-store or donating on Feeding America’s website.
With 749 million meals achieved over the last five years, Clinton County customers and members can help the Feeding America network secure its 1 billion cumulative meals goal in three ways. They can track the number of meals by visiting www.walmart.com/fighthunger.
For every participating product purchased at U.S. Walmart stores, Sam’s Clubs or on Walmart.com during the campaign, the supplier will donate the monetary equivalent of at least one meal ($0.10) on behalf of a Feeding America member food bank, up to applicable limits.
Donate money to your local Feeding America food bank at participating Sam’s Club and Walmart stores in the U.S. Donate at feedingamerica.org/Walmart.
Walmart kickstarted the campaign with a $3 million donation to Feeding America and member food banks including Food Finders Food Bank. A purchase of one of the 267 participating items helps secure the equivalent of one meal. Each Walmart and Sam’s Club will partner with at least one Feeding America local food bank, and the 18 participating suppliers include: Bush Brothers, Campbell’s, Conagra Brands, Cliff Bar, General Mills, Gold Peak Tea, Great Value, Hidden Valley, JM Smucker, Kellogg, Kraft Heinz, McCormick, Motts, PepsiCo, Post, Uncle Ben’s, Nature Nate’s Honey and Unilever.
“We are grateful to Walmart and Feeding America for this opportunity to raise much-needed funds and increase the community’s awareness of food insecurity,” said Katy Bunder, president/CEO of Food Finders Food Bank. “I’d like to urge our community to purchase the special products being offered at Walmart and to donate at the register when checking out. Many people are still in need of food assistance, and together we can solve hunger!”
“As we go into our sixth year of the ‘Fight Hunger. Spark Change.’ campaign, it’s exciting to approach the 1 billion mark in terms of charitable meals secured for Feeding America over the life of the program,” said Kathleen McLaughlin, chief sustainability officer for Walmart. “Food insecurity continues to affect communities across the United States. Working with Feeding America, our customers, members, associates and suppliers, Walmart and Sam’s Club aim to be part of the solution.”
Last year, Food Finders Food Bank benefited from more than $47,000 dollars from Walmart and Sam’s Club’s commitment to fight hunger. New this year, the food bank plans to extend the reach of this campaign by leveraging stories about hunger and hunger relief from people across the community. Additionally, Food Finders will host produce drops throughout its service area. For each produce drop, similar to a mobile pantry, approximately 3,000 pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables will be distributed from Walmart and Food Finders Food Banks’ Regional Produce Cooperative through Feeding America. This produce will be distributed in counties throughout the food bank’s service area that also have a Walmart or Sam’s Club location. The schedule for produce drops is:
- 4/22 – 10 am – Bauer Family Resources at 330 Fountain Street, Lafayette
- 4/23 – 10 am – Grace & Mercy Ministries at W., 257 Oak Hill Road, Crawfordsville
- 4/29 – 11 am – Ross Medical Education Center at 196 E. Southway Blvd., Kokomo
- 5/2/ – 11 am – First Evangelical Presbyterian Church at 352 W. Clinton Street, Frankfort
- 5/6 – 10 am – Fountain Stone Theatre at 1376 St. Gaspar Dr., Rensselaer
- 5/6 – 1 pm – Wolcott Community Building at 212 E Market St, Wolcott
- 5/13 – 3 pm – First Baptist Church of Galveston at 207 Sycamore St, Galveston
- 5/14 – 11 am – Matthew’s Market at 100 West 3rd Street, Rochester
To learn more about the campaign visit www.walmart.com/fighthunger.
About Walmart
Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) helps people around the world save money and live better – anytime and anywhere – in retail stores, online, and through their mobile devices. Each week, over 275 million customers and members visit our more than 11,300 stores under 58 banners in 27 countries and eCommerce websites. With fiscal year 2019 revenue of $514.4 billion, Walmart employs over 2.2 million associates worldwide. Walmart continues to be a leader in sustainability, corporate philanthropy and employment opportunity. Additional information about Walmart can be found by visiting http://corporate.walmart.com, on Facebook at http://facebook.com/walmart and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/walmart.
About Feeding America
Feeding America® is the largest hunger-relief organization in the United States. Through a network of 200 food banks and 60,000 food pantries and meal programs, we provide meals to more than 46 million people each year. Feeding America also supports programs that prevent food waste and improve food security among the people we serve; educates the public about the problem of hunger; and advocates for legislation that protects people from going hungry. Individuals, charities, businesses and government all have a role in ending hunger. Donate. Volunteer. Advocate. Educate. Together we can solve hunger. Visit www.feedingamerica.org, find us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.
About Food Finders:
Since 1981, Food Finders Food Bank, a member of Feeding America, has worked to provide full service programs that meet the nutritional needs of thousands of hungry families in North Central Indiana. The food bank operates programs to cost-effectively secure donated and purchased food, provide food to families in need, and educate the community about the efficient use of food resources. Food Finders distributed nine million pounds of food annually, throughout the 16 counties it serves. For more information or to make a donation, contact Food Finders Food Bank, Inc. at 765.471.0062 or visit www.food-finders.org.