SUPERVALU CHAIN CONCENTRATES EFFORT ON ONE DRIVE
LANHAM, Md. — Shoppers Food & Pharmacy, a price-impact chain here, has reached a healthy fund-raising stride over the past seven years with Food For All. The chain is one of eight Supervalu banners participating in Food For All's holiday hunger drive, which kicked off last month. Shoppers has raised over $900,000 since it began the holiday drive in 2000. Tom Mowery, the chain's vice president, store operations, said the drive exploded in its third year, hitting the $200,000 level. That level of funding has since leveled off but still remains strong, he said. Shoppers' primary charity focus is Food For All. “We've taken all our energies and put it into Food For All,” said Mowery, who said customers tended to pull back in their giving if the chain ran more than one major drive during the year.
GRAND UNION GOES SEASONAL, DROPS YEAR-ROUND
KEENE, N.H. — Grand Union Family Markets, a division of C&S Wholesale Grocers here, revamped its Food For All program after running it as a year-round program. According to Dan Bain, Grand Union's vice president and general manager, Food For All became background noise to a full calendar of other fund-raising events at the chain, which has 35 stores in New York, Vermont and Massachusetts. Grand Union narrowed its Food For All focus to 15-16 weeks during the summer with the Hunger Knows No Season campaign and the holiday Food For All drive. “We thought the Food For All holiday program was a natural, and there are a lot of pantries that really struggle during the summer, because people are doing other things and they don't necessarily think about giving [at that time],” said Bain. The chain raised just over $44,000 for local food banks last year during the combined summer and holiday programs. Grand Union's goal next year is $100,000.
GIANT FOOD GETS BIG BANG IN FEWER WEEKS
LANDOVER, Md. — In four short weeks over the summer, Giant Food Stores, an Ahold USA company, collected over $100,000 for area food banks through its well-branded Checkout Hunger program. In previous years, the summer drive ran for six to eight weeks. While many supermarkets focus on raising funds for the hungry during the holiday period, Jamie Miller, a spokesman for Giant, said there is a need during non-holiday times as well. The 187-store chain kicked off its annual holiday Good Neighbor drive this month.
K-VA-T AIMS TO BREAK $300,000 BARRIER
ABINGDON, Va. — K-VA-T Food Stores here will kick off its fifth Food For All and Food City Race Against Hunger drive on Nov. 28. The customized fund-raiser, which offers Food City shoppers who donate to Food For All a chance to win a package valued at $2,500 to all season races at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tenn., has been extended to six weeks this year in an effort to raise over $300,000. This year commemorates K-VA-T's 15th year as a sponsor at Bristol Motor Speedway's racing events. This year's co-sponsors in the Race Against Hunger are Miller Brewing and Kellogg Co. This will be Kellogg's third year as sponsor of the hunger drive. A portion of all Kellogg's product sold during the fund-raising period at K-VA-T stores goes to the nonprofit. Russ Hockin, vice president of industry relations at Kellogg's and a Food For All board member, declined to give his company's contribution figures. However, he does see the event as combining powerful equities for the common cause of raising money for the hungry. “It's a great combination of common platforms — NASCAR, Kellogg, Food City,” said Hockin. “It's great equity that the consumer understands. At the end of day, when you combine these three, it makes for a great promotion for us. It creates a lot of excitement in stores and for consumers. The most important thing is that it is a win for Food For All, which everyone can feel good about.”
