A match made at Meijer helps with hunger

Meijer is incenting customers to make generous donations to hunger relief organizations by offering to double their contributions.

As part of the retailer’s Simply Give hunger relief program, plans call for Meijer to contribute $20 every time a customer donates $10 resulting in a combined $30 donation to local food pantries. The company conducts its Simply Given campaign three times a year. The Spring effort runs through May 7 but the generous matching offer is good April 17-18.

“The spring Simply Give campaign is responsible for helping our food pantry partners prepare for the uptick in clients they see in the summer when federal school lunch programs are not available to children," Co-Chairman Hank Meijer said. "The Simply Give program has helped fill a void in the communities we serve thanks to the continued support and generosity of our customers, team members and pantry partners."

Meijer began its Simply Give program in November 2008 as a way to help restock the shelves of local food pantries throughout the Midwest. Since then, the program has generated nearly$14 million for those food pantry partners to distribute to hungry families. And, more importantly, those meals stay local, said Janet Emerson, executive vice president of retail operations for Meijer.

"We know how important it is to our customers that their generous donations remain in their local communities. That's why each of our stores partner with a local food pantry during the Simply Give campaign,” said Meijer executive vice president of retail operations Janet Emerson. The $10 Simply Give donation cards customer purchase are converted into Meijer food-only gift cards and given to the food pantry selected by the store.