Walmart, Sam's Club provide 1.2M meals to people in need in metro Atlanta in 2023

ATLANTA - In the United States, many families struggle to secure nutritious food. In Georgia, that includes 1 in 10 children who go to bed hungry each night, according to the Atlanta Community Food Bank.

In response, Walmart and Sam's Club launched their "Fight Hunger. Spark Change." campaign for the 11th consecutive year in April. The nationwide initiative aimed to provide access to food and resources for those facing hunger.

Last year’s campaign proved highly successful, raising over $395,000 for the Atlanta Community Food Bank alone and providing nearly 1.2 million meals to people in need across metro Atlanta and north Georgia. The food rescue efforts from Walmart stores and distribution centers in 2023 collected 11,685,041 pounds of food, bolstering the Food Bank's network of 700 nonprofit feeding partners. Funds from this year's campaign are still being tallied.

Kyle Waide, CEO of the Atlanta Community Food Bank, emphasized Walmart's impactful partnership, noting that their support had increased food rescues by 22% over the past year and multiplied the impact through additional financial and volunteer efforts.

Shoppers contributed to the campaign in three ways: donations at checkout, purchasing participating products (where suppliers donated the equivalent of at least one meal), and direct donations at Feeding America's campaign websites. Kathleen McLaughlin, Executive Vice President at Walmart, highlighted the importance of this initiative to their mission of expanding access to healthy food, inviting customers and suppliers to make a difference in their neighborhoods.

The campaign featured 28 participating suppliers, including General Mills, The Coca-Cola Company, Unilever, Kraft Heinz, and many more, who worked together to amplify the impact.

Each dollar raised will help provide at least 10 meals through Feeding America's network of local partner food banks, directly benefiting those in need across the country.