Walmart pledges $1.5M giveaway on Giving Tuesday
At a time when food pantries have a critical shortage of supplies and increased demand from those in need, Walmart is making a major pledge to help the hungry.
On Giving Tuesday, the world’s largest retailer announced its Food Pantry Holiday Makeover campaign. The effort calls on the American public to help food pantries across the country by voting online for a pantry to win funds for facility makeovers this holiday season. The campaign will donate $1.5 million to 75 food pantries, which will be used to purchase new equipment and renovate their facilities. As part of the campaign, Walmart is teaming up with DIY Network star James Young and calling on the public to support their local food pantries by voting online at walmart.com/holidaymakeover.
According to the USDA, more than 49 million Americans, including 16 million children, experienced food insecurity in 2013. Providing meals to families is a multi-step process that requires food pantries to not only have food on hand but to also be well-equipped to safely store, prepare, serve and transport food to enable families to put fresh and healthy meals on their tables. “Food pantries play a vital role in providing healthy meals to their communities. As they face great demand this winter, we’re working to make a positive impact by ensuring that they have the infrastructure to safely prepare and store food so more families can have access to healthier meals,” said Kathleen McLaughlin, president of the Walmart Foundation and senior vice president of Walmart Sustainability.
“We could not think of a better time than Giving Tuesday to kick off our campaign and give everyone in America the chance to help their local food pantry win an extra special gift this holiday season with just the click of a button.”
From now until Dec. 12, the public can visit walmart.com/holidaymakeover to cast one vote per day to help a participating food pantry. The 75 winning food pantries with the most votes at the end of the voting period will each receive a $20,000 grant. These grants will be used for important makeovers that may include the purchase of new kitchen and storage equipment, furniture, paint and other supplies that are needed to support food pantry operations and, in turn, the families they serve. One food pantry also will be selected by James Young to receive an in-person design consultation to help maximize their grant and make facility updates.
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 meals to those in need in the U.S. over the next five years.