Channel One Regional Food Bank, Walmart, Sam’s Club and Feeding America Launch “Fight Hunger. Spark Change.” A Campaign to Combat Hunger in Channel One’s 14 County Service Area.
Rochester, MN May 9, 2019 – One in eight Americans in communities across the U.S. struggle with hunger, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, including over 58,000 individuals in the Channel One service area who are food insecure. To raise awareness and combat the issue, Walmart, Sam’s Club, Feeding America® and Channel One Regional 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 Channel One Regional Food Bank, Walmart and Sam’s Club now invite 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, 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 Channel One Regional 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 appreciate Walmart’s ongoing commitment to fighting hunger and are thrilled that they are asking the public to get involved and make a difference in their local communities through the ‘Fight Hunger. Spark Change.’ campaign,” said Virginia Merritt, Executive Director of Channel One Regional Food Bank. “This campaign will significantly boost our collective ability to raise awareness about the issue of hunger in America, allowing us to secure more local funds and, ultimately, provide food to more people in need in southeastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin. We hope people across our area will take action and join us in fighting hunger by participating in the campaign.”
“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.”
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 Channel One Regional Food Bank
Channel One Regional Food Bank, a member of Feeding America, is a non-profit organization that serves the mission to work in partnership with others to help feed people in need. As the largest hunger relief network in Southeast Minnesota, Channel One Regional Food Bank serves seniors, individuals with physical or mental-health disabilities, working families and individuals, people in times of crisis due to job loss, medical problems or personal disaster, and food shelves, programs and agencies in 14 counties. These counties include Faribault, Waseca, Rice, Goodhue, Wabasha, Steele, Dodge, Olmsted, Freeborn, Mower, Fillmore, Winona, Houston, and La Crosse County in Wisconsin.