Feeding South Florida, Walmart and Feeding America Launch “Fight Hunger. Spark Change.” Campaign to end Hunger in South Florida

Throughout April, online acts of support, purchases of participating products and donations at Walmart registers can help Feeding America secure at least 200 million meals on behalf of local member food banks

Pembroke Park, FL (April 2, 2018) – She or he may be a distant relative or your next door neighbor, but chances are you know one of the estimated 710,370 people, including 248,080 children South Florida area who struggle with food insecurity at some point during the year. From April 2 through April 30, South Florida residents can make a real difference in the lives of local families.

Walmart, Feeding America and the Feeding South Florida today kicked off the fifth annual nationwide “Fight Hunger. Spark Change.” campaign online and in stores. Walmart and Feeding America are doubling their meal goal to help secure at least 200 million meals, increasing supplier participation to 14, and introducing the Walmart Credit Card as a new way for customers to get involved in the campaign. In another first, Walmart is uniting with social networking site, Nextdoor, to drive conversations in local communities across the nation on ways they can combat hunger.

“By working with Walmart, its 14 supplier partners and Synchrony Bank, we have an amazing opportunity to make progress towards ending hunger in our community,” said Paco Vélez

President & CEO of the Feeding South Florida. “This campaign will help increase awareness about the issue of hunger in America, allowing us to secure more local funds and ultimately provide more food to people in need in throughout Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade, and Monroe Counties. We hope people across South Florida will take action and participate in the campaign.”

Beginning today through April 30, Walmart is offering four ways that customers can get involved and fight hunger online, in-store and through social sharing to help secure meals for local food banks, including Feeding South Florida. Visit Walmart.com/fighthunger for further details. Here are the ways customers can participate in the fight against hunger.

Purchase Product: For every participating product purchased at U.S. and Puerto Rico Walmart stores or on Walmart.com from April 2 – April 30, 2018, the supplier will donate the monetary equivalent of one meal ($0.10) on behalf of a Feeding America member food bank, up to applicable limits. Participating suppliers include General Mills, The Coca-Cola Company, Kellogg, Kraft Heinz, PepsiCo/Frito-Lay/Quaker, Bush Brothers, Clorox Sales Company, Conagra, Motts, Unilever, Maruchan, Pinnacle Foods, Post, and JM Smucker.
Donate money to your local Feeding America food bank at participating Walmart stores in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Donations can be made at the register to Feeding South Florida in increments of $1, $2, $5 or an amount chosen by the customer. Donating is also an option at the self-checkout (Scan and Go) register. When customers click “Finish & Pay” on totals over $10, it will trigger the prompt with details on donating.
Make an online act of support: For every traceable post of campaign content with #FightHunger on Instagram and for every traceable share or retweet on Facebook and Twitter of campaign content, Walmart will donate $10.00 to Feeding America and for every click on the support button on the program website, Walmart will donate $1.00 to Feeding America, up to $1.5 million.
Use the Walmart Credit Card: Synchrony Bank will donate the monetary equivalent of one meal ($0.10) for each Walmart Credit Card transaction made at Walmart stores and on Walmart.com during the campaign, up to $750,000.

The ‘’Fight Hunger. Spark Change.’’ campaign launches at a critical time. In South Florida food insecurity affects 710,370 individuals, including 248,080 of children. Nationally, one in eight Americans (41 million), including one in six children (nearly 13 million) struggle with hunger at some point during the year, according to the USDA.

Food insecurity also affects certain populations more profoundly including children, seniors, minority and Latino communities. For Latino communities, one in five Latinos are food insecure compared to 1 in 10 white, non-Hispanics and 1 in 8 Americans overall. For Latino children, nearly a quarter (24 percent) are food insecure compared to 13 percent for white, non-Hispanic children, according to Feeding America’s Latino Hunger 2017 report.

“In communities big and small across the country, there are families struggling with hunger,” said Kathleen McLaughlin, president of the Walmart Foundation and chief sustainability officer for Walmart. “By working together during this campaign with our suppliers, customers and friends at Feeding America, we can help secure 200 million meals that will help those who need it most.”

Last year, Feeding South Florida benefited from 11,250 dollars from Walmart’s campaign to fight hunger.

To learn more about the campaign, visit www.walmart.com/fighthunger.

To download video and photos, visit https://corporate.walmart.com/newsroom

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About Feeding South Florida
Feeding South Florida® is a member of the Feeding America® network of food banks and the leading domestic hunger-relief organization serving Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade, and Monroe Counties. Our mission is to end hunger in South Florida by providing immediate access to nutritious food, leading hunger and poverty advocacy efforts, and transforming lives through innovative programming and education. Feeding South Florida rescues 46 million pounds of food annually, serving 710,370 individuals in need of food assistance – 248,080 of whom are children and nearly 120,000 are older adults. Feeding South Florida is the largest and most efficient food bank in each county it serves, providing for 25% of the state’s food insecure population, through a local network of nearly 400 nonprofit partner agencies and direct service programs. Visit www.feedingsouthflorida.org or call 954.518.1818.

About Walmart
Walmart 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, nearly 270 million customers and members visit our more than 11,700 stores under 59 banners in 28 countries and eCommerce websites. With fiscal year 2018 revenue of $500.3 billion, Walmart employs approximately 2.3 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.