Walmart Offers Food Pantry Holiday Makeovers

In honor of Giving Tuesday, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has introduced the Food Pantry Holiday Makeover campaign, a nationwide effort that invites people to help food pantries win funds for facility overhauls. The campaign aims to donate $1.5 million in grants to 75 food pantries, which will be used to buy new equipment and make renovations.

In support of the campaign, Walmart has joined forces with TV host and DIY expert James Young, while urging consumers to support their local food pantries by voting online.

"Food pantries play a vital role in providing healthy meals to their communities," noted Kathleen McLaughlin, president of the Walmart Foundation and SVP of Walmart Sustainability. "As they face great demand this winter, we're working to make a positive impact by ensuring that they have the infrastructure to safely prepare and store food so more families can have access to healthier meals. We could not think of a better time than Giving Tuesday to kick off our campaign and give everyone in America the chance to help their local food pantry win an extra special gift this holiday season with just the click of a button."

Through Dec. 12, the public can vote once a day to help a participating food pantry. The 75 organizations with the greatest number of votes at the close of the campaign will each receive a $20,000 grant to purchase new kitchen and storage equipment, furniture, paint and other supplies. Additionally, Young will choose one food pantry for in-person design consultation to help maximize its grant and make facility updates.

"Walmart's Food Pantry Holiday Makeover campaign gives everyone the chance to support their local food pantries so they can make important updates to their own kitchens and facilities," said Young, host of DIY Network's "I Hate My Kitchen." "With new equipment, storage systems and new furniture, the food pantries will be able to streamline their processes and help get needed food into the hands of more families."

The campaign furthers Walmart's goal of increasing access to affordable, nutritious, sustainably grown food. The Bentonville, Ark.-based mega-retailer's commitment to create a more sustainable food system includes a goal of providing 4 billion meals to needy people in the United States over the next five years.

Walmart operates 11,156 stores under 71 banners in 27 countries, and ecommerce websites in 11 countries.