Today Walmart
launches the spring Fight Hunger. Spark Change. campaign, a nationwide
initiative inviting the public to take action in the fight against
hunger. Working with some of the nation’s leading food companies – Campbell’s,
ConAgra
Foods, General
Mills, Kellogg
Company, Kraft,
and Unilever
– Walmart is offering the 140 million customers that shop at its stores
each week three easy ways to help families in need in their local
communities. Through the campaign, Walmart aims to donate up to $3
million to Feeding
America based on customer participation in the #WeSparkChange social
media challenge and Walmart’s suppliers aim to donate enough to help
Feeding America secure 75 million meals for affiliate food banks across
the country.
The Fight Hunger. Spark Change. campaign comes at a critical time when
one in six people in America struggle with hunger at some point during
the year, according to the USDA.
In addition, food banks are facing the time of year known as the “spring
hunger gap” when food supply is often at its lowest level. To raise
awareness and help provide meals to those in need, Walmart and its
suppliers are inviting customers to take action in store and online to
generate support for Feeding America and its nationwide network of 200
food banks.
“At Walmart, we believe every family should have access to affordable,
nutritious and sustainably grown food, but this is not the reality for
millions of Americans. An extraordinary 49 million Americans struggle
with hunger and don’t know where their next meal will come from at some
point during the year,” said Kathleen McLaughlin, president of the
Walmart Foundation and senior vice president of Walmart sustainability.
“This spring, we’re making it easy for our customers to give back to
those in need in their local community by taking simple actions in store
or sharing photos online. With the support of our customers and
partnerships with our suppliers and Feeding America, the nation’s
leading organization dedicated to fighting domestic hunger through a
network of member food banks, we can make a real difference for families
facing hunger across the U.S.”
From April 6 through May 3, customers can fight hunger and spark change
in three easy ways:
1. Take the #WeSparkChange Challenge: Customers can take a
picture of six friends who share their commitment to fight hunger,
representing the one in six people who may struggle with hunger in the
U.S. Then, post the picture on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter as a
public post with the hashtag #WeSparkChange. For each public post
connected to the hashtag #WeSparkChange, Walmart will donate $10, up to
a maximum donation of $1.5 million, to Feeding America on behalf of its
affiliate food banks. To help generate more donations, customers can
post multiple pictures, tagging friends and challenging them to take
their own photo within 48 hours.
To kick-off the challenge, Walmart will make an initial donation of $1.5
million to Feeding America, with the goal of reaching a total donation
of $3 million based on the public’s participation, enough to help secure
30 million meals.
2. Buy Participating Products: Purchase one of 240
participating products in Walmart stores nationwide and the supplier
will make a donation to help Feeding America secure a meal on behalf of
a local food bank. For every item purchased, a meal will be secured for
the local Feeding America food bank in that area.
3. Donate at the Register: For the first time, customers
can make a donation on behalf of their local Feeding America food bank
at the register during checkout.
“At Feeding America, our mission is to engage the country in the fight
to end hunger, and this spring we’re proud to build upon our strong
partnership with Walmart to encourage its millions of customers to get
involved,” said Bob Aiken, CEO of Feeding America. “The campaign is the
latest example of Walmart engaging its suppliers, customers and
associates with new and creative ways to help families struggling with
hunger have access to the food they need.”
The Fight Hunger. Spark Change. campaign is just one step towards
Walmart’s larger commitment to provide meals to those in need, helping
ensure every family has access to affordable, nutritious and sustainably
grown food. As the nation’s largest grocer, Walmart is in a unique
leadership position to help impact the issue of hunger in the United
States. Last year, Walmart 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.
To learn more about the campaign, including details on participating
products, visit www.walmart.com/fighthunger.
About Walmart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) helps people around the world save
money and live better – anytime and anywhere – in retail stores, online,
and through their mobile devices. Each week, more than 250 million
customers and members visit our 11,462 stores under 71 banners in 27
countries and e-commerce websites in 11 countries. With fiscal year 2015
sales of nearly $486 billion, Walmart employs more than 2 million
associates worldwide. Walmart continues to be a leader in
sustainability, corporate philanthropy and employment opportunity.
Additional information about Walmart can be found by visiting http://corporate.walmart.com on
Facebook at http://facebook.com/walmart and
on Twitter at http://twitter.com/walmart.
Online merchandise sales are available at http://www.walmart.com and http://www.samsclub.com.
Copyright Business Wire 2015