Giant Co. Partners With Customers to Help Feed Schoolchildren

The Giant Co. is launching its fourth annual Feeding School Kids initiative, with a focus on helping address food insecurity and supporting meal programs within local public school districts. Through the program, Giant is inviting customers at Giant, Martin’s and Giant Heirloom Market stores to round up their purchases to the nearest dollar, buy a reusable bag or convert their CHOICE points into a donation for a local school district’s food programs.

“When children are hungry, it can impact their academic success which is why we partnered with our local public school districts to address and to help eliminate childhood hunger in our communities,” said Jessica Groves, community impact manager at Giant Co. “Over the past three years, together with our customers and team members, we have raised more than $6 million through Feeding School Kids to help support hunger relief efforts both at school and at home. This year we are excited to extend the initiative an extra month for schools to raise even more needed funds.”

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Feeding School Kids will run through March 31, and Giant Co. is donating $100,000 to kick things off. Thanks to previous donations, school districts have been able to supply backpacks with weekend food, clear outstanding student lunch debt, build on-campus food pantries, establish garden programs and more.

Frederick County School District and Winchester School District, both in Virginia, were able to provide weekend food packs for more than 1,300 students and support more than 2,900 students during the summer with the help of Giant Co.’s program donations. Additionally, Norristown School District in Pennsylvania distributed 10,000 meal boxes in the summer containing five breakfasts and five lunches in each box.

“The donations we receive from The Giant company have gone directly to our Summer Meal Distribution Program,” said David Ludwig, director of food services at Norristown Area School District. “We have converted a school bus we now call the ‘Nest Express’ to meet our students and families in our community parks.”

Continued Ludwig: “During our summer program we distribute 35,000 breakfasts and 35,000 lunches reaching 1,000 students each week. This would not be possible without the district receiving grant funds and donations from organizations like The Giant Co. Partnering with The Giant Co, has proven to be a great benefit for our students and families in the Norristown Area School District.”

With more than 35,000 associates supporting more than 190 stores, 130-plus pharmacies, 107 fuel stations, and 180-plus online pickup hubs and a grocery delivery service in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and New Jersey, Carlisle, Pa.-based The Giant Co. encompasses the following banners: Giant, Martin’s, Giant Heirloom Market, Giant Direct and Martin’s Direct. Parent company Ahold Delhaize USA, a division of Zaandam, Netherlands-based Ahold Delhaize, is No. 10 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2023 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America. PG also named the company one of its Retailers of the Century and its 10 Most Sustainable Grocers.