Food Lion has announced new plans for its hunger-relief initiative, Food Lion Feeds. To fight hunger in its operating area, Food Lion Feeds will expand its partnership with Feeding America, create new partnerships to address hunger, and donate 1 billion more meals by the end of 2025 to its neighbors in need. Food Lion Feeds reached its previous goal of donating 500 million meals in May, nearly 18 months early.
“At Food Lion, we believe that no one should have to choose between dinner and rent or gasoline and buying groceries, and we know far too many of our neighbors are faced with those difficult decisions,” says Meg Ham, President of Food Lion. “Children in our classrooms, servicemembers who give so much to serve our nation, and seniors on fixed incomes in our towns and cities are struggling with hunger. Hunger knows no bounds. So, Food Lion is committed to nourishing our neighbors and setting them up for success in life, and we couldn’t be more proud to take on this incredibly important mission in an even bigger, more impactful way.”
To achieve its goals, Food Lion Feeds announced new partnerships with No Kid Hungry, a campaign to end child hunger in the United States, and Operation Homefront, to fight food-insecurity among our nation’s servicemembers and their families. Additionally, Food Lion Feeds will continue to grow its longstanding partnership with Feeding America, and the 30 Feeding America member food banks across Food Lion’s 10-state service territory.
It will do so through a combination of product, financial, and equipment donations; disaster relief and recovery efforts; volunteer events; in-store retail campaigns; the Food Lion Feeds retail food rescue program to donate food before it perishes; and other sources. Food Lion Feeds is also introducing new opportunities to involve its customers in the fight against hunger, through the launch of a new resource to encourage volunteerism in the towns and cities Food Lion serves.
“For years, Food Lion has been a strong partner to the Feeding America network. We are grateful for its commitment to helping people who face hunger,” says Andy Wilson, Chief Development Officer at Feeding America. “The Food Lion Feeds donation will help food banks provide more nourishing meals to our neighbors in need.”
Additionally, to coincide with Feeding America’s Hunger Action Month in September, Food Lion Feeds is launching the “#NoEmptyPlate” social media challenge. It will donate one meal for every post on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram customers make featuring an empty plate using #FoodLionFeeds and #NoEmptyPlate, up to one million meals. All meals donated through the #NoEmptyPlate challenge will benefit Feeding America and their member food banks in Food Lion’s service area.
Similarly, the new partnership with No Kid Hungry will help reduce the gap between the number of school children who are eligible to receive free school breakfast and those children who receive the meal. When kids start their day with a healthy breakfast, they do better on tests, have fewer discipline problems, have fewer health problems, and are more likely to graduate from high school. Food Lion Feeds’ donation to No Kid Hungry will provide up to five million meals to kids in need.
“One in six kids in America will face hunger this year,” says Jill Davis, Senior Vice President of Corporate Partnerships for Share Our Strength, the organization behind the No Kid Hungry campaign. “No Kid Hungry is committed to feeding those children so that they can reach their full potential. And through partnerships with companies like Food Lion, we are one step closer to achieving no kid hungry.”
To fight food insecurity among military and veteran families, Food Lion Feeds is partnering with Operation Homefront, a national nonprofit that serves America’s military families by providing them critical financial assistance, including meals and grocery assistance, transitional and permanent housing, and recurring family support programs throughout the year. Its Holiday Meals for Military program helps address food insecurity among military and veteran families. The partnership with Food Lion Feeds will enable the organization to broaden its reach and provide critical resources for our servicemembers and their families.
“We are thrilled Food Lion has chosen Operation Homefront as their Food Lion Feeds partner,” says Margi Kirst, Chief Development Officer of Operation Homefront. “Their support drives our ability to build strong, stable, and secure military families so they can thrive – not simply struggle to get by – in the communities they have worked so hard to protect. We thank Food Lion for their commitment to serving America’s military families.”
Ham adds, “These partnerships will enable us to have an even deeper impact in our communities while addressing some of the root causes of food insecurity. We want to shorten the lines at our feeding agency partners, while at the same time meeting the needs of those in need of emergency food assistance, just as we have always done. Through these partnerships, and with the support of our customers and associates, we are committed to fighting hunger in the towns and cities we serve.”