H-E-B Offers Innovative Store Brand Program to Help Hunger

7/30/2020

Texans have until Sept. 8 to purchase any of H-E-B’s 20,000 store brand items as part of a promotion to raise $2 million to benefit Feeding Texas.

The retailer launched the new charitable initiative on July 29, called the Summer of Giving, in which it plans to donate a portion of proceeds from every customer transaction that includes at least one H-E-B Brand item.

“Throughout the COVID-19 crisis, the burden on households has grown significantly with more and more families struggling to put food on the table,” said Winell Herron, H-E-B group vice president of public affairs, diversity and environmental affairs. “The H-E-B Summer of Giving initiative is another way we want to show our continued commitment to support food banks and other organizations working to help provide nutritious food to our most vulnerable communities.”

H-E-B said since 1992 its family of products has grown to include more than 20,000 items under brands such as Café Ole, Creamy Creations, Swoon ice cream, Meal Simple, KODI, Mootopia Milk, Central Market, Select Ingredients and Hill Country Fare.

The H-E-B Hunger Relief Program last year donated 32 million pounds of food, or the equivalent of 25 million meals, to families in need. And since 1982, the year the program was founded, H-E-B has donated more than 1 billion pounds of food to 5,500 non-profit organizations.

More recently, H-E-B said since March it has increased its support to Texas food banks donating more than 300 truckloads of food, which equals 7.5 million pounds of food or 6.2 million meals. At the onset of the pandemic, H-E-B gifted nearly $2 million to 18 food banks affiliated with Feeding Texas and organizations, such as Meals on Wheels, that are dedicated to mobilized home feeding services for seniors and low-income families.

“Hunger has more than doubled in Texas as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and H-E-B’s generous gift of up to 20 million meals will help food banks across the state feed an unprecedented number of community members in need.” said Feeding Texas CEO Celia Cole, “We are so grateful for the Summer of Giving partnership with H-E-B and their continued commitment to help close the hunger gap in Texas.”

With 400 stores in Texas and Mexico, San Antonio-based H-E-B is No. 17 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer's list of the top food retailers in North America.