Walmart's Summer Feeding Programs

While the summer bounty of fruits and vegetables are abundant right now and it appears that there is more than we could simply enjoy, our country continues to have a serious hunger problem. There are still over 36 million Americans that don't know what their next meal will look like, where it will come from or when it will come. As a family, this is an area we have decided to get behind and help. We've bought and donated food to our local Oregon Food Bank monthly, we will help those on the street with energy bars, and I co-planned a food-raiser last month that raised two tons of food. But it's still not enough. And as much as we and other families want to help, the biggest impact comes from big organizations - those with the market influence, voice and deeper pockets. 

And the big guys are really stepping up. Just today I read about the $7.8 million donation that Walmart is making to national and local hunger relief programs. The efforts will help:

• Purchase healthy meals for 93,000 children through our Boys and Girls Clubs across the country - With more than 12 million children living in homes that are struggling with hunger, the meals they get at these after-school or summer programs may be the only (or healthiest) meal they get all day

• Deliver over 30 new refrigerated trucks to food banks - this means that central food banks can safely deliver fresh foods where they're needed in communities at soup kitchens, shelters or food pantries

• Provide 90 million pounds of foods to our food banks - if we're going to meet President Obama's pledge to end childhood hunger by 2015, we're going to need every company in our food system to do all they can to raise dollars and food like Walmart is

This is what happens when big organizations see a need in their community and step up as corporate citizens to help their neighbors. If you want to see what Walmart is doing to make a different in your state, you can visit this link to their site and choose your state.

Now, some of my readers who know me well might be surprised to read this post. I've not been shy over the years about my feelings towards Walmart. I won't go into details other than to say I've not been their biggest fan. But since the inception of these feelings, I've worked with big corporations and have seen how it can be a challenge to always do the right thing, even with the best intentions.

That said, I'm sincerely glad to see Walmart making such a serious impact to feed the hungry.

Comments

[MrJodie]

As a corporation, they still have a lot of growing up to do. However, this shows real progress. Thank you for the article, Gina, and your constantly refreshing openness.