Fight Hunger This Holiday Season, Support Your Local Food Pantry

In this season of giving, it’s important to know that 49 million Americans, including more than 12 million children, will struggle with hunger at some point during the year, according to the USDA. Food pantries across the country are facing greater demands than usual this holiday season.

Providing meals for hungry families is a multi-step process that includes the proper packaging, storage and transportation of food. Food pantries must be well-equipped to safely store, prepare, serve and transport food to enable families to put fresh and healthy meals on their tables.

That’s why I want to encourage you to support your local food pantry, by joining Walmart in its Food Pantry Holiday Makeover campaign. In support of local food pantries across the country, this December, Walmart will award $1.5 million in grants to 75 local food pantries. James Young, host of DIY Network’s “I Hate My Kitchen” is the spokesperson for the campaign and will personally help remodel one of the winning food kitchens.

To participate, starting now through December 12, customers and associates can visit www.walmart.com/holidaymakeover and cast one vote per day (a 24-hour time period) to help a participating food pantry.

The 75 winning food pantries will each receive a $20,000 grant to help them purchase items like new kitchen and storage equipment, furniture, paint, or other supplies that are needed to continue providing fresh meals and exceptional service to local communities.

The grants will be announced on December 15.

The Food Pantry Holiday Makeovers campaign is another step towards Walmart’s goal of providing access to affordable, nutritious, sustainably-grown food to those in need.  As the nation’s largest grocer, Walmart recently announced a commitment to create a more sustainable food system, with a focus on improving the affordability of food by lowering the “true cost” of food for both customers and the environment, increasing access to food, making healthier eating easier, and improving the safety and transparency of the food chain.

This commitment includes a goal of providing four billion healthier meals to those in need in the U.S. over the next five years. To learn more, go to www.walmart.com/holidaymakeover  Vote today!