In conjunction with Feeding America’s Hunger Action Month, Food Lion associates and its community food bank partners will perform more than $202,000 worth of major renovations to five pantries within its 10-state footprint. Additionally, through its hunger relief initiative Food Lion Feeds, associates will restock 105 smaller feeding agencies to positively impact children, veterans and seniors who are facing food insecurity issues.
Now in its fifth year, The Great Pantry Makeover effort by Food Lion Feeds will include renovations like rebuilding hunger relief facilities devastated by floods and fire, increasing capacity for existing food pantries on multiple college campuses to fight student hunger and expanding facilities to serve more of Food Lion’s neighbors in need.
“Giving back to our communities is part of who we are at Food Lion and something we care deeply about,” says Emma Inman, director of external communications and community relations for Food Lion. “This year’s Great Pantry Makeover effort is focused on providing a larger impact to agencies and the communities they serve, says Inman. Many of the agencies suffered major damage and loss through Hurricane Florence and other events. In addition to Food Lion associate volunteers who offer their hearts, souls and their skills to support feeding agencies during this volunteerism event refreshing and refurbishing the pantries, Food Lion Feeds will also stock each of these facilities with food so they can partner with us in helping to nourish local families as we enter the busy holiday season. Our associates are excited to give back to the communities they call home through a bigger, bolder Great Pantry Makeover campaign this year.”
The five locations receiving major renovations are:
Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest North Carolina, Winston-Salem, North Carolina – During the week of Sept. 16-20, associates will prepare hot meals for various Winston-Salem after-school programs. Food Lion Feeds will also provide funding to upgrade the food bank’s kitchen space with new flooring, add a new drop ceiling and install appropriate electrical outlets/HVAC vents.
Associates will also repaint the food bank’s kitchen, which serves as the main hub where meals are prepared for the after-school program that distributes meals to various organizations in Winston-Salem.
Wake Tech Community College, Raleigh, North Carolina – Associates will build and install shelving at five existing pantries across Wake Tech’s campuses. A focus of the renovations is on expanding each pantry’s ability to distribute fresh produce, and Food Lion Feeds will also host a pop-up produce market on Sept. 24, at one of the campus locations for low-income and homeless students.
Food Bank of Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore, Norfolk, Virginia – Food Lion Feeds will assist East End Baptist Church in opening a new pantry after their previous pantry was destroyed by fire. Once completed, church staff will be able to stop using a smaller temporary space and resume pantry operations inside their church. Associates will paint and restock the pantry on Sept. 25.
Interfaith Coalition, Hancock, Maryland – With Food Lion Feeds support, Interfaith Coalition is expanding their food pantry and replacing the floor so agency staff can have more storage space to safely help clients. Food Lion Feeds is also assisting the organization with expanding their freezer capacity. Plus, local Food Lion associates will paint and perform other volunteer activities on Sept. 26 to help with completion of the project.
Horry County Council on Aging (HCCOA), Conway, South Carolina – Volunteers and contractors will perform major renovation work to the HCCOA building, which was flooded from multiple hurricanes that have hit the area since 2015. Once completed, the agency staff will be able to fully resume operations and continue feeding seniors throughout the county. Associates will help with painting and other cleanup work on Sept. 27.
This initiative comes weeks after Food Lion Feeds announced its commitment to donate 1 billion more meals to help its neighbors in need. These Hunger Action Month initiatives alone represent more than 1 million meals donated.
Hunger Action Month is the Feeding America network’s nationwide awareness campaign that mobilizes communities to act to help end hunger.
