Walmart, Sam’s Club and Feeding America® Launches the Fight Hunger. Spark Change. Campaign

Food Bank Continues to Address Increased Need Caused by the COVID-19 Pandemic

Approximately 73,040 people in Central Louisiana could experience food insecurity in 2021 due to the ongoing economic fallout from COVID-19. Neighbors in our community are struggling to put food on the table – many facing this difficult reality for the first time in their lives.

That is why Walmart and Sam’s Club are supporting the Feeding America® nationwide network of food banks, including the Food Bank of Central Louisiana through the Fight Hunger. Spark Change. campaign. Now in its eighth year, the campaign has been a way for Walmart and Sam’s Club to partner with suppliers, customers and members to help provide food to people in need.

The Fight Hunger. Spark Change. campaign will run in store and online from April 5 – May 3, 2021. There are three easy ways for customers and members to participate:

· Donate at check-out in stores and clubs, or at either www.FeedingAmerica.org/Walmart or www.FeedingAmerica.org/SamsClub.

· Round-up at check-out on Walmart.com and the Walmart app.

· For every participating product purchased in store or online at Walmart.com or SamsClub.com, the supplier will donate the monetary equivalent of at least one meal ($0.10) on behalf of a Feeding America member food bank at Walmart and five meals ($0.50) at Sam’s Club, up to applicable limits. See specially marked packages for full details.

“Central Louisiana has faced a number of challenges this past year and we have worked hard to serve our neighbors in their time of need. Walmart and Sam’s Club have been a true partner in this effort,” Jayne Wright-Velez, executive director of the Food Bank of Central Louisiana. “We are grateful for Walmart, Sam’s Club and their suppliers, members and customers for their generous support.”

On average the Food Bank of Central Louisiana and its partners served about 42,500 households per month in 2020 –that’s 20,000 more families each month over the previous year. Not surprisingly, given the economic fallout of the pandemic, approximately 40% of those clients are new to the food bank. What is surprising is that many would have qualified for services pre-pandemic, and will continue to receive services long-term. The food bank’s increased capacity has expanded services to reach into more communities throughout Cenla; to places where hunger has been present for decades, as well as where COVID has introduced people to hunger who have never known it before.

“Fighting hunger means more than just feeding people. It means helping them on a path to fulfill their potential, because nutritious food is the foundation for good health and wellbeing,” said Kathleen McLaughlin, executive vice president and chief sustainability officer for Walmart. “Central to our mission at Walmart is helping people live better and that includes ensuring they have access to nutritious food. In its eighth year, Fight Hunger. Spark Change. continues to provide communities a way to support local food banks alongside their neighbors, trusted brands and their local Walmart and Sam’s Club.”

Each Walmart and Sam’s Club will partner with at least one local Feeding America food bank, and the 27 participating suppliers include: Abbott, Bodyarmor, Bush Brothers & Company, Campbell Soup Company, Clif Bar & Company, Ferrera Candy Company, General Mills, Great Value, Iovate Health Sciences, J.M. Smucker, Kellogg’s, Keurig/Mott’s, Kitu Coffee, Kraft Heinz, Materne North America, Mighty Spark, Monster Energy, PEPSICO, Post Consumer Brands, Purina, Simply Good Foods, Strong Roots, The Coca-Cola Company, The Clorox Company, This Saves Lives, Unilever and United States Nutrition.

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The Food Bank of Central Louisiana

The Food Bank of Central Louisiana is a non-profit organization whose mission is to alleviate hunger in central Louisiana. The Food Bank distributes food and grocery products to needy families through a network of approved charitable agencies in the following eleven parishes: Allen, Avoyelles, Catahoula, Concordia, Grant, LaSalle, Natchitoches, Rapides, Sabine, Vernon and Winn.

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, over 265 million customers and members visit approximately 11,500 stores under 56 banners in 27 countries and eCommerce websites. With fiscal year 2020 revenue of $524 billion, Walmart employs over 2.2 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 corporate.walmart.com, on Facebook at facebook.com/walmart and on Twitter at twitter.com/walmart.

Sam's Club

Sam’s Club®, a division of Walmart, Inc. (NYSE: WMT), is a leading membership warehouse club offering superior products, savings and services to millions of members in nearly 600 clubs in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Now in its 37th year, Sam’s Club continues to redefine warehouse shopping with its highly curated assortment of high-quality fresh food and Member’s Mark items, in addition to market leading technologies and services like Scan & Go, Club Pickup and home delivery service in select markets. To learn more about Sam’s Club, visit the Sam’s Club Newsroom, shop at SamsClub.com, and interact with Sam’s Club on Twitter and Facebook.

About Feeding America

Feeding America® is the largest hunger-relief organization in the United States. Through a network of 200 food banks and 60,000 food pantries and meal programs, we provide meals to more than 46 million people each year. Feeding America also supports programs that prevent food waste and improve food security among the people we serve; educates the public about the problem of hunger; and advocates for legislation that protects people from going hungry. Individuals, charities, businesses and government all have a role in ending hunger. Donate. Volunteer. Advocate. Educate. Together we can solve hunger. Visit www.feedingamerica.org, find us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.