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If It Ain’t Broke

FALLS CHURCH, Va. Food For All has been raising money for local charities the same way for 25 years. Just 10 years after the first UPC code was scanned at a supermarket cash register, the Food Industry Crusade Against Hunger (FICAH) began using the bar code to make it easy for shoppers to donate to local charities. Although the organization now goes by the name Food For All, the basic method of operation

FALLS CHURCH, Va. — Food For All has been raising money for local charities the same way for 25 years.

Just 10 years after the first UPC code was scanned at a supermarket cash register, the Food Industry Crusade Against Hunger (FICAH) began using the bar code to make it easy for shoppers to donate to local charities. Although the organization now goes by the name Food For All, the basic method of operation remains the same.

Using its point-of-sale displays holding slips that can automatically add $1, $3 or $5 onto a customer's order, Food For All and its retailer partners have collectively put millions of dollars to work fighting hunger both home and abroad.

“We've been using UPC codes since the beginning, and the only thing that's really changed is that our efficiency has gotten much better, and our graphics at the point of sale have improved,” said Denis Zegar, president and chief executive officer, Food For All.

“One of the reasons Food For All does well is that our graphics are so appealing,” he explained. “You only get people for 30 seconds at the register, so in that 30 seconds we work very, very hard to make sure our art design and our communication of our programs let the customer know what we are trying to do.”

FICAH was launched by a group of supermarket executives in 1985 after discussing a famine that was taking place in northern Africa.

While they first began raising money for famine relief, they also wanted to support organizations that promoted self-help, sustainable solutions to combat hunger.

FICAH merged with Food For All, which also had been seeking to raise money for anti-hunger initiatives, in 1997. The name change took place shortly after the 9-11 terrorist attacks, when the word “Crusade” in FICAH's name took on a negative connotation.

“We had been talking about changing the name anyway,” Zegar explained.

Technically, the organization is still called FICAH, but it continues to operate under the Food For All name both domestically and internationally.

The group raises money primarily by collecting a percentage of the donations garnered at supermarket checkouts — the exact percentage varies by retailer, but it can often total 10% or 15%. That money is then used for overhead and for funding international programs.

It also receives some direct cash donations from food companies and does some promotions with manufacturers that help raise funds. In 2008, the organization raised about $4.2 million from point-of-sale contributions and received $220,975 in other contributions.