Food Lion

Food Lion Feeds is celebrating its one year anniversary by donating more than 1 million meals through local “Summers Without Hunger” donations and the launch of its second annual Food Lion Feeds reusable bag campaign in its more than 1,100 stores. In year one of the program, the grocer donated more than 62 million meals and is on target to meet its commitment to donate 500 million meals throughout its 10-state operating area by the end of 2020.

“Over the past year, Food Lion Feeds has become so much more than a giving program. It is part of who we are as a company and is something we’re just as passionate about as serving our customers in our stores,” said Food Lion President Meg Ham. “I’ve personally had many opportunities to participate in local Food Lion Feeds donations. Each time I’m incredibly moved by the powerful stories individuals in our communities share with us. At one donation, we had a customer who was going to use a gift card to buy fresh fruit because she had not had any in several weeks. Another was from a family who was going to purchase a birthday cake for their daughter, who otherwise would have gone without. These tough choices families make are why we’re so passionate about ending hunger in our local communities. At Food Lion, we believe no one should have to choose between dinner and paying rent or medicine and buying groceries, and no parent should ever have to forego a meal for themselves to feed their child.”

To recognize the one year anniversary of Food Lion Feeds, the grocer will make several local food donations throughout the month of June to help combat summer hunger, beginning with an 8,000-meal donation at Eastway Elementary School in Durham this past week. Every one of the 620 students at the school, where 98 percent of the children receive free and reduced lunch, will go home for the summer with a backpack full of shelf stable food and a reusable bag full of fresh produce.