Food Lion keeps hunger away with millions of apples a day

Food Lion partnered with its customers and Feeding America to help provide 1.5 million meals to families in need.

Thanks to a program that began on September 17, each time a customer purchased the specially-marked apples Food Lion helped provide five meals to local food banks.

"We're incredibly proud and humbled by the support from our customers to help feed families struggling with hunger," said Food Lion president Beth Newlands Campbell." At Food Lion, we believe no one should have to choose between dinner and paying rent or gasoline and buying groceries. We thank our customers for standing with us to help eliminate some of these tough choices for families in their local communities."

In addition to the approximately 1.1 million meals provided in partnership with its customers, Food Lion made an additional $50,000 donation, the equivalent of 450,000 meals, to Feeding America. Yakima Fresh/Robinson Fresh, the supplier of the bagged apples, also supported the campaign with a $25,000 donation to Feeding America, providing the equivalent of an additional 225,000 meals to families in need.

Through Food Lion Feeds, Food Lion is working to create a better tomorrow by uniting with customers and partners to help eliminate the difficult choices many families are forced to make when they are struggling with hunger.

The specially marked bagged apples were the second of three in-store Food Lion Feeds campaigns in 2014. Through the sale of special Food Lion Feeds reusable bags earlier this year, Food Lion provided 1 million meals to local food banks and Feeding America in partnership with its customers.

In November, the grocer will launch "Holidays Without Hunger" food boxes for sale in its stores, which when purchased by customers are donated directly to a local feeding agency.

The in-store campaigns support Food Lion's work toward its goal of providing 500 million meals to families in need in its local communities by the end of 2020.