Wawa and The Wawa Foundation Partner with Feeding South Florida to Fight Hunger in Palm Beach County through Lending a Helping Hoagie Initiative and New School Pantry Program
Riviera Beach, FL (March 23, 2017) – Wawa Inc., and The Wawa Foundation, a 501c (3) non-profit organization founded to support Wawa’s charitable giving and philanthropic activities, are thrilled to announce a commitment to fight hunger in Palm Beach County by supporting Feeding South Florida’s branch location, Feeding Palm Beach County and its School Pantry Program (FSFSPP).
On Thursday, March 23, Wawa is hosting triple header grand opening celebrations to officially launch Wawa’s first locations in Palm Beach County. The stores will be located at:
3950 South Congress Ave., Palm Springs, FL
1771 South Congress, Palm Springs, FL
7289 Garden Road, Riviera Beach, FL
To mark Wawa’s entrance into the Southeast Florida market, The Wawa Foundation will be making a grant of $30,000 to fund the School Pantry Program serving Lincoln Elementary School in Riviera Beach, Florida. Wawa will also launch its Lending a Helping Hoagie program to benefit Feeding South Florida. As Wawa opens its first three stores in the Southeast Florida market, Wawa has committed to donating a portion of hoagie sales for these three stores (up to $5,000 per store) to Feeding South Florida with a goal of donating $15,000 in one week to help fight hunger in the Palm Beach County community.
“At The Wawa Foundation, fighting hunger is one of the three key areas we focus our giving around, and the mission of the Feeding South Florida School Pantry Program aligns perfectly with our mission to build stronger communities by increasing food access for people in need,” said Wawa President & CEO, Chris Gheysens. “We couldn’t be more excited to partner with an organization like Feeding South Florida to fight hunger in our new community.” Wawa and The Wawa Foundation are strong supporters of food banks throughout Wawa’s six-state operating area.
About The Feeding South Florida School Pantry Program
The Feeding South Florida School Pantry Program (FSFSPP) helps alleviate child hunger through the provision of food to children and their families in the South Florida region. With seven area schools currently in the program, The FSFSPP provides a variety of readily accessible food to schools in need, in a safe environment with which they’re already familiar. The FSFSPP will provide enrolled students and families of Lincoln Elementary School not only with pantry staples, such as rice, canned goods, etc., but also fresh fruits and vegetables. As part of the School Pantry Program, Feeding South Florida will provide nutrition education as well as benefits assistance for students and families.
With the support from The Wawa Foundation, Feeding South Florida will be able to implement the program at Lincoln Elementary School throughout 2017.
“Feeding South Florida is incredibly excited about Wawa’s expansion across South Florida. They’re not only a favorite among people familiar with their stores, they’re also an impactful supporter of their local communities, exemplified by their support of Feeding South Florida’s School Pantry Program,” said Paco Vélez, President & CEO of Feeding South Florida. “Lincoln Elementary is a high-need school and we’re grateful to Wawa for helping provide support to our children and families.”
Since entering the Florida market, The Wawa Foundation has donated more than $3 million to local charities supporting its three main areas of giving – health, hunger and everyday heroes. In 2016, The Wawa Foundation distributed more than $11 million in grants to national and local charities throughout its six-state market. Since 2012, Wawa has donated 1.1 million pounds of unsold food products to local food pantries located near its Florida stores.
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. Its 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 44 million pounds of food annually, serving 784,110 individuals in need of food assistance – 264,280 of whom are children and nearly 130,000 of whom 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 more than 400 nonprofit partner agencies and direct service programs. For more information, visit www.feedingsouthflorida.org or call 954.518.1818.
About The Wawa Foundation
The Wawa Foundation is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation founded by Wawa, Inc. to support the company’s charitable giving and philanthropic activities – and ultimately to help build stronger communities. The Wawa Foundation focuses its supports on organizations committed to health, hunger and everyday heroes through local, state and national grants and / or in-store fundraising campaigns to benefit its national partners ,as well as local and regional charities.
About Wawa, Inc.
Wawa, Inc., a privately held company, began in 1803 as an iron foundry in New Jersey. Toward the end of the 19th Century, owner George Wood took an interest in dairy farming and the family began a small processing plant in Wawa, PA in 1902. The milk business was a huge success, due to its quality, cleanliness and “certified” process. As home delivery of milk declined in the early 1960s, Grahame Wood, George’s grandson, opened the first Wawa Food Market in 1964 as an outlet for its dairy products. Today, Wawa is your all day, every day stop for fresh food and , beverages, coffee, fuel services and surcharge-free ATMs. The stores offer a large selection of, Wawa brands such as built-to-order hoagies, freshly-brewed coffee, hot breakfast sandwiches, built-to-order Specialty Beverages, and an assortment of soups, sides and snacks. In 2015, Wawa was named “America’s Most Beloved Convenience Store” by a Market Force study of 7,000 consumers, and in 2016 Wawa was recognized in Forbes as one of “America’s Best Large Employers,” a survey-based ranking of employers offering the best associate experiences and strongest opportunities. A chain of more than 750 convenience retail stores (500 offering gasoline), Wawa stores are located in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and Florida.
