Food Lion Feeds Turns 1

Food Lion Feeds is marking its first anniversary by donating more than 1 million meals through local “Summers Without Hunger,” and the rollout of a second annual Food Lion Feeds reusable bag campaign at its more than 1,100 stores. So far, the Salisbury, N.C.-based grocer has given away more than 62 million meals and is on track to meet its goal of donating 500 million meals throughout its 10-state market area by the end of 2020.

"Over the past year, Food Lion Feeds has become so much more than a giving program," noted Food Lion President Meg Ham. "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."

Anniversary donations made during the month of June to help eliminate summer hunger included 8,000 meals given away on June 10 at Eastway Elementary School Durham, N.C., where each of the 620 students, 98 percent of whom receive free and reduced-price lunches, got a backpack full of shelf-stable food and a reusable bag full of fresh produce.

For the second annual Food Lion Feeds reusable bag campaign, a "Roar Against Hunger" art contest resulted in five young winners, whose designs appear on this year's bag.

The national winner, whose artwork adorns the front of the bag (pictured above), is Chelsey, age 11, of Statesville, N.C. The four runners-up, whose drawings are on the back of the bag, are Chloe, age 6, Hillsborough, N.C.; Leena, age 9, Virginia Beach, Va.; Karrie, age 14, Parksley, Va.; and Sierra, age 14, Newport News, Va. Each winner will host a signing event on Saturday, June 13, at her local Food Lion store. The bags will be on sale, while supplies last, for 99 cents apiece.

For every bag purchased between June 10 and June 30, Food Lion Feeds will donate five meals to a local food bank, in partnership with Chicago-based anti-hunger organization Feeding America.

A video of  activities carried out during Food Lion Feeds' first year is available online.

A company of Delhaize America, the U.S. division of Brussels-based Delhaize Group, Food Lion has more than 1,100 stores in 10 Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic states, and employs more than 63,000 associates.