Summer Hunger Campaign with Feeding America Food Banks is back in stores June 3-17
Modesto, Calif.—Today Save Mart and Lucky supermarkets kick off the ‘Peanut Butter with a Purpose’ partnership with food banks throughout California and Northern Nevada to collect donations of peanut butter and raise awareness of the struggle many families have feeding their children during the summer months. Last year food banks throughout the region received over 16 tons of peanut butter thanks to this collection effort.
June 3-17 all Save Mart and Lucky stores throughout the region will be collecting peanut butter to help stock the pantries of local food banks. Giving this campaign a boost, Jif peanut butter and Smucker’s jelly have announced a buy-one, get-one promotion making it easy for families to donate a jar of peanut butter or jelly each time they purchase one.
“Save Mart knows that 1 in 3 kids in our community struggles with hunger. So they have stepped up to help Community Food Bank provide 100,000 kids with PB&J this summer through their Peanut Butter with a Purpose campaign,” explains Andrew Souza, President and CEO of the Community Food Bank which serves Fresno, Madera, King and Kern counties.
In the summer, many families are left struggling to stretch already limited food budgets even further with yet another gap to fill. With holiday donations near depleted, local Food Banks are most desperate for food during the summer months—right at the time that school children who receive school lunch head off for the summer. According to the USDA, more than 1 in 5 children live in a household that is food insecure. Peanut Butter was chosen because it is a high protein, shelf-stable food, often associated with children.
“Last year we were able to raise over 16 tons of peanut butter. That’s enough to make over half a million peanut butter sandwiches. That’s a lot of happy kids! “explains Nicole Pesco, Co-President and Chief Strategy and Branding Officer. “I’m thrilled that Save Mart is able to contribute to our communities this way.”
Based in the heart of the Central Valley, Save Mart Supermarkets’ commitment to sourcing a wide variety of local products ensures that ‘fresh comes first’ for neighborhoods throughout Northern California and Northern Nevada. The company employs over 16,000 team members and operates 217 traditional and price impact stores under the banners of Save Mart, Lucky, FoodMaxx, S-Mart Foods, and Maxx Value Foods. In addition to its retail operation, Save Mart owns and operates two distribution centers, Smart Refrigerated Transport, Yosemite Wholesale Warehouse, and is a voting partner in Super Store Industries (SSI)—which owns and operates a distribution center in Lathrop, Mid Valley Dairy in Fairfield, and Sunnyside Farms ice cream plant in Turlock. For more information on the company visit www.SaveMart.com.
For more information about the Peanut Butter with a Purpose initiative, please contact your local Feeding America food bank and Stacia Levenfeld at 925.833.6135.