As a partner for more than 15 years, Food Lion Feeds and Food Lion Feeds Charitable Foundation have invested in the mission of Inter-Faith Food Shuttle in a variety of ways. This year, the grocery store chain and its charitable foundation, based in Salisbury, NC, have gone far and beyond in their support of Food Shuttle programming with multiple generous grants, donations, and ongoing support. In total, Food Lion has provided over $142,000 in funds and thousands of dollars in gift cards and product to support the Food Shuttle’s efforts to end hunger.
In March of this year, Food Lion Feeds Charitable Foundation awarded the Food Shuttle with a $100,000 grant for the launch of the new food truck “The Spinning Plate,” through an Innovation and Impact Grant. This new mobile kitchen will enable innovative service to low-income communities across central North Carolina through the delivery of nutritious, hot meals as well as serve communities in need during disaster recovery.
Also in March, the Food Lion Feeds Charitable Foundation donated $6,626 to the Food Shuttle through the “Score to Give More” cause marketing campaign. The check was presented to the Food Shuttle’s then Board Chair Bob Alger at the Duke vs. NC State basketball game.
In April, after the effects of the pandemic had truly made themselves known in central North Carolina, Food Lion Feeds Charitable Foundation stepped up with a $20,000 COVID-19 gift that went a long way towards Inter-Faith Food Shuttle’s emergency relief efforts. Their commitment to helping children during this time continued through a $5,000 Pass-Through Grant to Inter-Faith Food Shuttle to partner with Child Nutrition Services of the Wake County Public School System to open additional feeding sites, purchase food and supplies, pay staff, and purchase PPE.
In July, the Food Shuttle was selected to receive a $10,000 Child Hunger Grant thanks to Food Lion Feeds Charitable Foundation to support the start-up, sustainment or expansion of child hunger programs, including BackPack Buddies, School Pantries, Mobile Markets, and more.
Even more is in store for this fall as plans are underway for the sixth annual “The Great Pantry Makeover” providing pantry restocks and gift cards for three of the Food Shuttle’s agencies. The organizations that will benefit from this award include the AME Church Empowerment Center in Raleigh, the Life Skills Foundation in Durham, and Western Wake Crisis Ministries in Apex. As a part of their Food Lion Feeds Faces of Hope and the Helpers, Food Lion will provide $25 gift cards to ensure kids and their families have resources to buy food during this critical time. These gift cards will be distributed at a select number of Food Shuttle Mobile Markets.
Food Lion has been a long-time partner of the Food Shuttle’s Community Health Education “Cooking Matters” program. As part of the “Cooking Matters” curriculum, participants tour a local Food Lion store where they learn to practice key food shopping skills such as buying fruits and vegetables on a budget, comparing unit prices, reading food labels, and identifying whole grain foods. At the end of the tour, participants complete a $10 shopping challenge, allowing them to practice skills learned during the tour and take home a meal’s worth of healthy groceries—paid for with Food Lion gift cards that have been donated by the company. When the “Cooking Matters” program went virtual under COVID-19, webinar participants still receive the $10 Food Lion gift cards by providing a mailing address upon registration. This ongoing support has inestimable value to the continued success of the program and the people it serves.
Inter-Faith Food Shuttle President and CEO L. Ron Pringle shares, “Food Lion continues to lean into our mission, consistently asking ‘How can we help?’ Their passion for solving hunger is met equally with their generosity to put their funds where they know they will make their biggest impact. Our cherished relationship with Food Lion, their stores, leadership, and foundation board of directors is a true example of communities taking care of communities.”