Relief Efforts Continue as Grocers Make a Difference in Helene's Wake
In the aftermath of Hurricane Helene that ravaged parts of Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas, grocers continue to donate resources and dollars to help those in need.
This week, Food Lion – which operates several stores in hard-hit communities – announced that it is giving $1.5 million to areas affected by the storm and launched a register campaign that runs through Oct. 30. The Food Lion Feeds Charitable Foundation will distribute funds through its partner food banks and other organizations, including the American Red Cross and World Central Kitchen.
“Caring for our neighbors and the towns and cities we serve is an integral part of our Food Lion culture,” said Meg Ham, president of Food Lion. "Our hearts go out to those devastated by Hurricane Helene, and we want our neighbors and communities to know they can count on Food Lion, especially those who need us most during this time. By joining forces with our customers, we are reminded of the strength and resiliency of our communities to come together to support those impacted by the effects of the storm.”
Other retailers continue to send supplies. Michigan-based food solutions company SpartanNash, for instance, donated four truckloads of water for disaster relief and dispatched a team to Florida to deliver meals with Convoy of Hope. Also this week, The Fresh Market donated bottled water to residents in the cities of Tallahassee, Fla. and Asheville, N.C.
Southeastern Grocers and its SEG Gives Foundation are also helping communities in their home state of Florida. On Oct. 2, SEG hosted a relief event at the Madeira Beach Winn-Dixie, providing more than 500 families with free water, food, ice and cleaning supplies. The company also contributed $250,000 at the start of the hurricane season to the American Red Cross and raised another $175,000 through a community donation program in September, even before Helene roared ashore.
Meantime, Ingles Markets, headquartered in Asheville, provided an update on its operations in a statement released on Oct. 2. “Ingles Markets is devastated by the catastrophic damage from Helene. Unprecedented destruction and tragic loss of life have touched every town, city, community, and business. Our hometown Black Mountain, North Carolina which houses our distribution center was one of these areas. We had loss of power, critical infrastructure, transport vehicles, inventory, and yes even loss of life. We were all severely impacted. Ingles has stores in our region with significant damage and some stores still without power and water,” the company shared on its Facebook page.
Ingles emphasized that it is working diligently to bring operations back online and provide assistance to victims. “Ingles is known for being there when hard times fall, it is part of our fabric to respond. At this time when we are reliant, we are grateful to our vendors, media partners and charity organizations we have coming to help us. Amid everything we are very proud of our associates. As they feed first responders, distributing goods to emergency management channels, assisting the Red Cross, and coordinating ways to do whatever possible to give while dealing through tragic personal loss of their own. We are making progress to come back online, and we want to thank you for your patience. To all of you and our beloved Western North Carolina mountains, we love you."
That sentiment was returned by one person who reached out directly to Progressive Grocer to share her gratitude to Ingles. “We were leaving Pigeon Forge last Friday and got caught at Black Mountain by Asheville, North Carolina,” shared a woman named Janet. “We had water but nothing else, spent a day and a half with no food. We could’ feel sorry for ourselves under the circumstances. Then the next day we learned that Ingles was giving out food. My husband walked over and was given a loaf of bread and a bag of ham. We made us a sandwich and thought we were having a feast. Then you stop and think about all the people without food, a house, loved ones still mossing, not knowing anything... I really just want to say thank you for being there and passing out whatever was available.”
