Sav A Lot's new Round Up at the Register program will allow customers to donate their change to Feeding America food banks, thus helping the hungry and assuaging the national coin shortage simultaneously.
Discount grocery chain Save A Lot has rolled out a Round Up at the Register program at nearly 580 stores nationwide in partnership with Feeding America. Proceeds from the grocer’s new charitable program, which enables customers to round up up their transaction total to the nearest dollar amount and donate the change they would have received, will benefit Feeding America member food banks, as well as other local charities identified by each store.
Additionally, in common with a recently launched Southeastern Grocers campaign, the initiative will help Save A Lot address the nationwide coin shortage.
“As the go-to neighborhood grocery store for so many of our valued customers, Save A Lot is committed to making the lives of everyone in the communities we serve better every day, in every way,” said Save A Lot CEO Kenneth McGrath. “Now more than ever, local food banks need our help, and by joining forces with Feeding America to bring our Round Up at the Register program to life, we can help provide that much-needed support to our neighbors who need it most.”
At participating Save A Lot locations throughout the United States, the “round up” can be applied to any type of transaction -- cash, credit, debit or check. According to Save A Lot, the program will generate a minimum donation of $100,000 to Feeding America.
According to Lauren Biedron, VP of corporate partnerships at the Chicago-based hunger-relief organization: “Feeding America estimates that an additional 17 million people may face hunger as a result of the pandemic. We are thankful to Save A Lot for its generous support of member food banks across the country during these challenging times. Their support will make a difference for our neighbors who are struggling to put food on their tables.”
So far this year, Save A Lot has donated almost 1.6 million pounds of food to Feeding America member food banks across the country. The largest domestic hunger-relief organization in the United States, it provides meals to more than 40 million people annually through a network of 200 food banks and 60,000 food pantries and meal programs.
St. Louis-based Sav A Lot has more than 1,100 corporate and licensed stores in 33 states and 14 wholesale distribution centers. Held by private equity firm Onex Corp., the company is No. 54 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s list of the top food retailers in North America