The Giant Co., headquartered in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, kicked off its 30 days of hunger action on Sept. 8, in honor of Hunger Action Month, with its first Giant Grocery Grab in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
According to Feeding America, an estimated 42 million people, including 13 million children, are facing food insecurity this year. In response to increased pressure put on the charitable food network, throughout September, The Giant Co. is teaming up with its customers and supplier partners to raise awareness, donate funds and volunteer to help eliminate hunger in the communities it serves.
Established in 2008, Hunger Action Month is the Feeding America nationwide network of food banks’ awareness campaign designed to mobilize the public to act on the issue of hunger.
“While The Giant Co. is committed to helping our local food banks and pantries provide meals to families in need year-round, Hunger Action Month is a time to spark increased awareness and leverage our partnerships to help drive significant change within our communities,” said Glennis Harris, SVP of customer experience for The Giant Co. “When families come together around the table, they should be connecting with one another, not worrying about where their next meal may come from.”
Among the donation, volunteer and awareness activities The Giant Co. has planned throughout September to support families facing food insecurity are:
- Donate a total of $400,000 to 20 partner food banks across the company’s four state footprint;
- Customers can support Feeding America and their local food banks by rounding up the dollar amount on their purchases at checkout or by purchasing a reusable bag, with 50 cents of each bag going toward hunger action efforts;
- In partnership with Unilever, Quaker and PepsiCo, on Sept. 8 and 9, The Giant Co. will distribute 5,000 backpacks full of food to school kids in the Central Pennsylvania, Philadelphia and Hagerstown, Maryland communities;
- In celebration of National Peanut Butter Day on Sept. 13, from Sept. 10-16, for every 28-oz. jar of private label peanut butter sold in stores or online, The Giant Co. will donate a jar to local partner hunger relief organizations;
- In recognition of Hunger Action Day on Sept. 17, Giant and Martin’s team members from across all four states the company operates in will participate in volunteer efforts with food bank partners, from packing and organizing to harvesting and planting;
- Stuff-a-Truck donation events will be held at The Giant Co.’s Martinsburg, West Virginia; Quarryville and Trexlertown, Pennsylvania stores Sept. 17-19. Customers and team members are encouraged to donate non-perishable food to benefit local food bank partners; and
- Every Tuesday in September at noon, The Giant Co. nutritionists will host a hunger action virtual class series focused on topics such as food insecurity, paying it forward, eating healthy on a budget and $4 meal inspirations. Each week will also feature an orange (the color for hunger action) inspired recipe demonstration and challenge to the audience. For more details and to register for the free classes, click here.
Visit the Giant or Martin’s websites to learn more about The Giant Co.’s ongoing hunger relief efforts, which include its signature Meat the Needs program, which has donated more than 15 million pounds of meat that would otherwise have gone unsold to food banks.
