Meijer Stocks Food Pantries With $7.6M in Donations

Meijer and its customers donated more than $7.6 million in 2020 through the retailer's Simply Give program to help keep Midwest food pantries’ shelves stocked and feed hungry families.

The year 2020 proved a crucial time to help food pantries as they experienced  increased need because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Despite the difficult circumstances many families faced last year, we were proud to join forces with our customers to help those who needed it most," said Cathy Cooper, Meijer's senior director of community partnerships and giving. "We care about the communities we serve and are committed to ensuring our Simply Give program makes a difference for our food pantry partners."

The Simply Give program encourages customers to purchase $10 Simply Give donation cards, which are then converted into Meijer food-only gift cards and given to a local food pantry in the store's community. 

The $7.6 million total 2020 donation equates to 76 million meals for food pantries across the Midwest. According to Feeding America, $1 equals 10 meals.

The holiday campaign alone earned $2.6 million in donations and saw the highest customer participation in the program's 12-year history. The campaign certainly received a boost from Meijer when the retailer said that it would hold two double-match days. The grocer double-matched Simply Give cards purchased on Dec. 1, 2020, the National Day of Giving, and on Dec. 12, 2020.

The top 10 holiday donation recipients of the drive were:

1. Carmel, Indiana: $59,890 for Merciful HELP Center at OLMC Food Pantry
2. Canal Winchester, Ohio: $42,360 for the Canal Winchester Community Food Pantry
3. Normal, Illinois: $34,800 for Eastview Christian Church Food Pantry
4. Lansing, Michigan: $33,790 for St. Vincent de Paul of Lansing St. Gerald
5. Noblesville, Indiana: $32,170 for St. Vincent de Paul of Noblesville
6. Grand Rapids, Michigan $31,970 for Church of the Servant Food Pantry
7. Grand Haven, Michigan: $31,280 for Love in Action of the Tri-Cities
8. Oxford, Michigan: $30,860 for the Oxford/Orion Fish Food Pantry
9. Plainwell, Michigan: $29,500 for Christian Neighbors Food Pantry
10. Northville, Michigan: $29,470 for Northville Civic Concern Food Pantry

Since the Simply Give program began in 2008, more than $61 million — equating to 610 million meals — has been donated to food pantries.

Grand Rapids, Michigan-based Meijer operates more than 256 supercenters and grocery stores throughout Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky and Wisconsin. The company is No. 19 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer's 2020 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America.