BJ's Charitable Foundation Donates $50,000 to Support the Capital Area Food Bank's School Pantry Program

BJ's Wholesale Club (NYSE: BJ), a leading operator of membership warehouse clubs in the Eastern United States, today announced a $50,000 donation to the Capital Area Food Bank, a Feeding America^® member food bank. The donation from the BJ’s Charitable Foundation is part of the retailer’s initiative to help end hunger in the Washington metro area.

“BJ’s is dedicated to nourishing our communities and helping families thrive by improving access to basic essentials including fresh, nutritious food,” said Kirk Saville, executive director, BJ’s Charitable Foundation. “We’re thrilled to donate $50,000 to the Capital Area Food Bank to support its school pantry program. This grant will help increase access and feed more families in food insecure communities.”

BJ’s grant to the Capital Area Food Bank is part of its recent $1 million donation to Feeding America, the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief organization. The donation will support programs that expand direct access to food, including the School Pantry, mobile market and BackPack programs. With these programs, families facing food insecurity will be able to more easily access fresh, nutritious food to help put meals on the table.

“We all know it’s incredibly hard to learn or thrive without enough nutritious food,” said Radha Muthiah, President and CEO of the Capital Area Food Bank. “The hard reality is that nearly 400,000 people throughout the Washington metro area struggle to get the food they need, and one-third of those are children. We’re so pleased that, with BJ’s generous support, we’ll be able to increase the amount of fresh, healthy food that we deliver to kids and families in need through our free school-based markets.”

The Capital Area Food Bank is the anchor of the hunger relief infrastructure in the region, providing more than 30 million meals to people in communities across Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia. But the organization doesn’t stop there – it provides long-term solutions to hunger, addressing the root causes by partnering with organizations that provide critical services like job training programs and healthcare.

BJ’s grant marks the third yearly $1 million donation to the Feeding America network from the BJ’s Charitable Foundation. Since 2011, BJ’s has provided ongoing support to the Feeding America network through the BJ’s Charitable Foundation and BJ’s Feeding Communities program, helping local food banks successfully expand their programs to reach wider audiences.

BJ’s Feeding Communities program is a food rescue partnership, where the company donates all unsold perishable food to Feeding America member food banks in its footprint, helping to get wholesome food onto the plates of more families. To date, BJ’s has donated more than 100 million pounds of food including meat, produce, dairy and bakery items – which equals more than 84 million meals^* – to Feeding America member food banks.

To learn more about BJ's Wholesale Club, visit BJs.com.

^*Based on U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) guidelines, a meal is equal to 1.2 pounds of food and grocery product.

About BJ's Wholesale Club, Inc.
Headquartered in Westborough, Massachusetts, BJ's Wholesale Club is a leading operator of membership warehouse clubs in the Eastern United States. The company currently operates 219 clubs and 144 BJ's Gas® locations in 17 states.

The Company’s common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: BJ).

About Capital Area Food Bank
The Capital Area Food Bank works to address hunger today and create brighter futures tomorrow for nearly half a million people across the region experiencing food insecurity. As the anchor in the area’s hunger relief infrastructure, we provide over 30 million meals to people in need each year by supplying food to 450+ nonprofit organizations, including Martha’s Table, SOME – So Others Might Eat, DC Central Kitchen, Food for Others, Manna, and others. Through these partnerships, the food bank supports 10 percent of our region’s mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, sisters, brothers, and grandparents.

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