Everyone needs nutritious food to thrive, and in every community in America, people are working hard to provide for themselves and their families. Yet according to the Atlanta Community Food Bank, 1 in 10 children in Georgia will go to bed hungry tonight.
For the 11th straight year, all U.S. Walmart stores and Sam’s Clubs launched their nationwide “Fight Hunger. Spark Change.” campaign for the month of April, with the goal of providing people facing hunger with access to the food and resources they need to thrive. Funds raised from the 2023 campaign provided nearly 1.2 million meals to neighbors in need across metro Atlanta and north Georgia over the past year. Funds raised from this year’s campaign are still being calculated.
“Walmart continues to be one of the Atlanta Community Food Bank’s most important and impactful community partners in the mission to fight hunger,” said Kyle Waide, CEO of Atlanta Community Food Bank. “Their in-store personnel and marketing managers have worked collaboratively with our food sourcing team to increase the amount of food rescued from Walmart by 22% over the past year. And Walmart’s financial and volunteer support has multiplied that impact, allowing more neighbors to access the food they need to thrive while strengthening the Food Bank’s network of nonprofit feeding partners.”
Last year’s campaign raised a staggering $395,798.64 for the Food Bank alone. In 2023, 11,685,041 pounds of food were rescued from Walmart’s stores and distribution centers, providing more meals to food insecure Georgians and strengthening the giving power of the Food Bank’s network of 700 nonprofit feeding partners.
There were three ways for shoppers to participate in the campaign:
By donating at check-out in stores or clubs or round up at Walmart.com and the Walmart app.
By purchasing participating products in-store or online at Walmart.com or SamsClub.com. For every purchase of a participating product, the supplier donated the monetary equivalent of at least one meal ($0.10) on behalf of a Feeding America partner food bank at Walmart and five meals ($0.50) at Sam’s Club, up to applicable limits. See specially marked packages for full details.
By donating at Feeding America’s “Fight Hunger. Spark Change.” campaign donation site at either www.FeedingAmerica.org/
“Serving communities and expanding access to affordable, healthy food lies at the heart of Walmart and Sam’s Club’s purpose to help people live better,” said Kathleen McLaughlin, Executive Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer, Walmart and President, Walmart Foundation. “Our annual Fight Hunger. Spark Change. campaign is a way that we invite our customers, members and suppliers to fight hunger alongside us. The funds raised through this campaign go toward local Feeding America food banks, meaning we can all make a difference in our own neighborhoods.”
The 20 participating suppliers for Walmart include: Bush Brothers & Company; Celsius; The Clorox Company; The Coca-Cola Company; Conagra Foods; Dole Packaged Foods; Ferrara; Ferraro; General Mills; Hain Celestial; Hershey Salty Snacks Sales Company; Kellanova; Kellogg’s; Keurig Dr Pepper; Kodiak; Kraft Heinz; Monster Energy; Pepsi-Cola Advertising & Marketing, Inc.; Red Bull; and Unilever.
The 8 participating suppliers for Sam’s Club include: General Mills; Kellogg’s; Kraft Heinz; Nestle; Nissin; Nongshim; Palmetto; and Unilever.
*Currently, $1 helps provide at least 10 meals secured by Feeding America® on behalf of local partner food banks.
About Walmart
Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) is a people-led, tech-powered omnichannel retailer helping people save money and live better – anytime and anywhere – in stores, online, and through their mobile devices. Each week, approximately 255 million customers and members visit more than 10,500 stores and numerous eCommerce websites in 19 countries. With fiscal year 2024 revenue of $648 billion, Walmart employs approximately 2.1 million associates worldwide. Walmart continues to be a leader in sustainability, corporate philanthropy and employment opportunities. Additional information about Walmart can be found by visiting corporate.walmart.com
