Food Lion is helping to provide 246,000 meals – three meals for a full day of nourishment on behalf of each of its 82,000 associates – to thank associates for their ongoing commitment to help nourish neighbors in the towns and cities the omnichannel retailer serves. The donation recognizes Supermarket Associate Day, which is part of a national effort to honor frontline grocery workers. The donated meals will help Feeding America®, Food Lion Feeds’ national hunger-relief partner, in its ongoing mission to end hunger.
“Our 82,000 associates are committed to nourishing their neighbors and setting them up for success, and it’s important that we take time to share our appreciation for everything they do,” said Meg Ham, President, Food Lion. “Eliminating difficult choices between gas and groceries and dinner and rent is part of what drives us. Many associates work every day to select food donations from their store to distribute to local feeding agencies and, ultimately, neighbors in need. This is personal to us, and that’s why we’re donating a complete day of nourishment in our associates’ honor to support their commitment to the towns and cities they serve.”
“With more than 38 million people facing hunger, Feeding America is grateful to Food Lion for their continuous commitment to help provide meals to families who are struggling to put food on their tables,” said Lauren Biedron, Vice President of Corporate Partnerships, Feeding America. “We appreciate Food Lion associates and their efforts to help communities in need as we celebrate them on Supermarket Associate Day.”
Each of Food Lion’s more than 1,100 stores participates in Food Lion’s food rescue program, where each store donates excess food to a local feeding agency. Food Lion helped create the food rescue program more than 20 years ago in partnership with Feeding America. In 2021, more than 52 million meals* were donated through the Food Rescue program. Recently, Food Lion Feeds reported it donated the equivalent of 152 million meals* in 2021.
Since 2014, Food Lion has donated more than 900 million meals 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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