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Communities Unite in the Spirit of Giving to Help Local Food Pantries Win Part of $1.5 Million in Grants from Walmart

2014-12-15 12:00 ET - News Release

Food Pantry Holiday Makeover Campaign Awards $20,000 in Grants to 75 Food Pantries Across the Country


BENTONVILLE, Ark. -- (Business Wire)

Today, Walmart announced the 75 food pantry winners of the Food Pantry Holiday Makeover campaign that will each receive a $20,000 grant for facility makeovers. Over the past two weeks, communities nationwide came together to vote at walmart.com/holidaymakeover for their local food pantry to win a grant. The grants are being made to help the winning food pantries, such as the Chesapeake Cares Food Pantry in Huntingtown, Md., renovate their facilities and purchase essential equipment such as new refrigerators, ovens, stoves, storage units, and even refrigerated trucks to help them better serve families in need.

“We are humbled by the turnout of support Chesapeake Cares Food Pantry has received throughout the campaign, and we’re so excited to be able to use the funds to expand our facility. It will help us improve the food distribution area to make it much easier for people in need to access food. We’ll also be able to expand our food storage area, allowing us to provide healthier foods so more families can eat nutritious meals,” said Rev. Robert P. Hahn, Senior Pastor Chesapeake Church, Chesapeake Cares Food Pantry. “We thank Walmart for their generosity and their commitment to reach out to local food pantries, the people who are on the front lines of this fight. Every food pantry in the running was worthy and we all stand shoulder to shoulder in combating the truly solvable problem in our country: hunger.”

The Food Pantry Holiday Makeover campaign launched at a time when food pantries across the country are preparing for their busiest time of year and facing high rates of need, with more than 49 million Americans experiencing food insecurity in 20131. Meeting this need requires food pantries to not only have food on hand, but be well-equipped to safely store, prepare, and transport the food that will ultimately end up on a family’s table.

“We are so thankful for everyone who voted and for the communities that came together to support their local hunger relief agencies,” said Kathleen McLaughlin, president of the Walmart Foundation and senior vice president of Walmart Sustainability. “Today, the dedicated food pantry staff and volunteers who work so hard to fight hunger can start making plans for the purchase of new equipment and renovations. We hope that these grants will help make the holidays a little brighter not just for the food pantry staff and volunteers, but also, most importantly, for the families served by these organizations.”

The following food pantries earned the most votes from Dec. 2 through Dec. 12 and will receive part of $1.5 million in grants from Walmart:

             
State     City     Food Pantry
Alabama     Birmingham     The Village
    Chunchula     Georgetown-Chunchula United Methodist Church
Arizona     Sahuarita     The Good Shepherd Church UCC
Arkansas Fort Smith     Christ For The World
    Rogers     National Council of the United States of St. Vincent de Paul
California Sacramento     Daughters of Zion Enterpryz
    Vacaville     Vacaville Storehouse
Connecticut Andover     Andover Food Pantry
Bridgeport     Iglesia Adventista Hispana de Bridgeport
    New Haven     Loaves and Fishes Food Pantry and Clothing Closet
Florida Clewiston     Iglesia Misionera Mundial Inc.
Destin     Destin Harvest Inc.
Fort Myers     Community Cooperative
    Salvation Army
    Temple Terrace     Kingdom Kids of Tampa Bay, Inc.
Georgia Augusta Bible Deliverance Temple
    Vineyard Church of Augusta
Carrolton     Open Hands United Christian Ministry
Decatur     New Life Community Ministries, Inc.
Newnan     BTG Community Outreach, Inc.
    Woodstock     Alive Ministries, Inc.
Hawaii Honolulu     River of Life Mission
    Wahiawa     Surfing The Nations
Illinois Centralia     WAMAC Mission of Hope, Inc.
    Quincy     The Salvation Army of Quincy Illinois
Indiana     Brazil     St Vincent de Paul Society Annunciation Conference
Iowa Adel     Good Samaritan Food Pantry, Inc.
Ames     Food at First
Mason City     Hawkeye Harvest Food Bank
    Quincy     Lutheran Church of St. John Food Pantry
Kansas     Independence     Community Access Center - Independence Food Basket
Louisiana     Opelousas     Living Waters Community Development Corporation of Louisiana
Maryland     Huntingtown     Chesapeake Cares Food Pantry
Massachusetts     Salem     East Gate Christian Fellowship Joseph's Storehouse Food Pantry
Michigan Jamestown     In His Name Ministries, Inc.
    Sutton Bay     Leelanau Christian Neighbors
Minnesota Blaine     Hope For The Community
Burnsville     Vineyard Community Services
Golden Valley     People Responding in Social Ministry (PRISM)
Grand Rapids     Community Cafe Inc.
Moose Lake     Moose Lake Area Food Shelf
    St. Paul     Keystone Community Services
Missouri La Plata     La Plata Christian Ministries Food Distribution Center
    Mexico     The Help Center, Inc.
Nevada     Henderson     Saint Therese Center HIV Outreach
New York Binghamton     First Assembly of God
Canton     Church & Community Program
    Farmingville     Shinnecock Revival Center
North Carolina High Point     Helping Hands High Point
Sunbury     Changing Today For A Brighter Tomorrow
    Thomasville     Fairgrove Family Resource Center, Inc.
Ohio Columbus Feed My Sheep Ministries
        Gladden Community House
Oklahoma     Woodward     Woodward Families Helping Families Inc.
Pennsylvania Allison Park     North Hills Community Outreach
Erie     SSJ Neighborhood Network
    Somerset     Somerset County Mobile Food Bank Inc.
South Carolina Columbia     St. Vincent de Paul Society
    Hilton Head Island     Sandalwood Community Food Pantry

Tennessee

Antioch     The Branch of Nashville, Inc.
Clarksville     Manna Café Ministries
    Nashville     The Little Pantry That Could
Texas Houston     Kids' Meals, Inc.
Plano     Minnie’s Food Pantry, Inc.
    San Antonio     Mobile Loaves & Fishes, Inc.
Utah Draper     Jesus Feeds Food Pantry
    Spanish Fork     Tabitha’s Way
Virginia Charlottesville     Loaves & Fishes Food Pantry, Inc.
Chilhowie     Loaves and Fishes Chilhowie Area Food Pantry, Inc.
    Farmville     Farmville Area Community Emergency Services
Washington     Tacoma     St. Leo Food Connection
West Virginia     Ashtown     Crosslight of Hope, Inc.
Wisconsin Madison     The River Food Pantry, Inc.
    Verona     Verona Area Needs Network
Wyoming     Casper     Poverty Resistance Food Pantry
 

The campaign is part of Walmart’s recently announced commitment to create a more sustainable food system, with a focus on improving the affordability of food by lowering the “true cost” of food for both customers and the environment, increasing access to food, making healthier eating easier, and improving the safety and transparency of the food chain.This commitment includes a goal of providing four billion meals to those in need in the U.S. over the next five years. To learn more about Walmart’s work to fight hunger, visit foundation.walmart.com/our-focus/hunger/.

About Walmart

Wal-Mart Stores, 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, more than 250 million customers and members visit our 11,156 stores under 71 banners in 27 countries and e-commerce websites in 11 countries. With fiscal year 2014 sales of over $473 billion, Walmart employs approximately 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.

1 United States Department of Agriculture. (2014). Household Food Security in the United States in 2013. Retrieved from http://www.ers.usda.gov/media/1565415/err173.pdf

Contacts:

Walmart
Tricia Moriarty, 1-800-331-0085
news.walmart.com/reporter

Source: Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

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