Walmart Donates $50,000 To Gleaners Community Food Bank

DETROIT - Jan. 25, 2017 - PRLog -- … Gleaners Community Food Bank of Southeastern Michigan (Gleaners) has received a $50,000 grant from the Walmart Foundation through Feeding America. Gleaners utilized the funds to purchase a refrigerated truck and walk-in freezer that will support the Monroe County Opportunity Program (MCOP). With the grant-funded resources, Gleaners expects to increase retail donations in Monroe County from approximately 60,000 lbs. of food per year to 200,000 lbs. per year.

"We are extremely grateful to Walmart and Feeding America for making the donation of this refrigerated truck and walk-in freezer possible. These additions will provide MCOP with greater capacity for retail donations of fresh produce, frozen meat and other healthy foods throughout the year, benefitting our many hungry neighbors in Monroe County," said Gleaners Chief Operating Officer, Julie Beamer.

According to a 2015 study from Feeding America, the food insecurity rate within Monroe County is 12.8 percent with more than 19,000 food insecure individuals. MCOP is a Partner Distribution Organization (PDO) of Gleaners that serves the majority of food distribution programs in Monroe County and aims to improve access to nutrition in rural areas. Gleaners is focused on strengthening and expanding their most effective programs with a goal of increasing economic impact to households by 20 percent.

"Through this wonderful donation, MCOP will be able to increase access to food for our most vulnerable residents in the community," says MCOP Executive Director Stephanie Kasprzak. "Our work with Gleaners and Walmart continues to expand our capacity to feed more people and we are extremely grateful.

Gleaners' mission aligns directly with the Walmart Foundation's sustainability initiatives around reducing food waste across the supply chain and diverting underutilized food into the charitable food system. Walmart's main goal for the grant is to help Gleaners advance their retail donation program by providing assets that support growth.

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About Gleaners Food Bank of Southeastern Michigan

For 40 years, Gleaners Community Food Bank has been "feeding hungry people and nourishing our communities." Last year, Gleaners distributed more than 38 million pounds of emergency food to over 534 partner schools, soup kitchens, shelters and pantries in Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Livingston and Monroe counties. Of every dollar donated, Gleaners uses 94 cents for food and food programs. One dollar provides three meals for a hungry neighbor. Learn more at www.gcfb.org

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