Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin is proud to announce it is the recipient of a $750,000 grant from Walmart and Feeding America®, part of a continuing, multi-year partnership to strengthen food donation efforts between food banks, partner agencies and local retailers.

Funded by Walmart and awarded to 13 food banks in the Feeding America network of local food banks, the Retail Agency Capacity Grant equips food banks’ partner agencies – food pantries, meal programs, and shelters – with equipment, vehicles and staff to support “food rescue” efforts. These efforts involve grocers donating fresh, frozen, and shelf-stable foods to food banks and agency partners.

“This generous support from Walmart and Feeding America strengthens our ability to rescue more fresh, nutritious food – food that will nourish children, families, and seniors across our 35-county service area,” said Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin President and CEO, Patti Habeck. “At a time when the need in our communities remains so great, this grant will help us deliver more meals, more compassion, and more hope. We’re deeply grateful for strong partners who believe, as we do, that everyone deserves access to the food they need to thrive.”

This funding will ensure more equitable access to food donations from local Walmart stores by equipping many of Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin pantry partners with the tools they need, whether vehicles, equipment, or staff, to pick up food donations safely and efficiently. Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin will work with each partner to assess their community’s unique needs and determine the appropriate resources to support additional pickups.

According to Feeding America’s Map the Meal Gap report, 1-in-8 people in Eastern Wisconsin are currently experiencing food insecurity, including 1-in-6 children. This grant will provide additional resources to meet that need head-on by strengthening the organization’s food rescue infrastructure.

With these grants, Walmart has donated a total of $15.75 million to 33 food banks and hundreds of partner agencies to increase their capacity to recover and distribute fresh food. These investments have led to significant increases in weekly food pickups by enabling new equipment – like refrigerated vans – additional staffing, upgraded technology, and enhanced training.

“Increasing access to food is key to Walmart’s purpose to help people to live better, and we’ve been working with Feeding America for the past 20 years to help local food banks and agencies recover and distribute more food donations,” said Julie Gehrki, Senior Vice President at Walmart and President of the Walmart Foundation. “We’re honored to build on this work through our support of Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin. We look forward to collaborating to get more fresh food to people who need it.”

This year’s grant announcement continues a celebration of 20 years of partnership between Walmart, Sam’s Club, and Feeding America that’s grown into one of the most transformative collaborations in the hunger relief space – with approximately $271 million in donations – including more than $177 million from the company and the Walmart Foundation and nearly $95 million from customers and members. Walmart and Sam’s Club have also donated more than 9 billion pounds of food to the Feeding America network of local food banks and partner agencies since 2006, making them Feeding America’s largest corporate donor.

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About Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin:

Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin is the largest hunger relief organization in Wisconsin, with food banks in Milwaukee and Appleton. Founded in 1982 by the Rotary Club of Milwaukee, the organization is a locally led and independently operated member of the national Feeding America network of food banks. In collaboration with nearly 600 hunger relief partners and trusted community-based programs, Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin provides healthy, nutritious food to neighbors facing hunger across 35 counties in Eastern Wisconsin. Committed to building stronger, healthier communities, the organization works to address the root causes of hunger through education, strategic partnerships, and innovative community-centered solutions. Learn more at FeedingAmericaWI.org.

 About Philanthropy at Walmart:

Walmart.org represents the philanthropic efforts of Walmart and the Walmart Foundation. The Walmart.org team works to tackle key social and environmental issues relevant for the retail sector in collaboration with others to spark long-lasting systemic change and help people live better in the communities we serve. To learn more, visit www.walmart.org.

 About Feeding America:

Feeding America is committed to an America where no one is hungry. We support tens of millions of people who experience food insecurity to get the food and resources they say they need to thrive as part of a nationwide network of food banks, statewide food bank associations, food pantries and meal programs. We also invest in innovative solutions to increase equitable access to nutritious food, advocate for legislation that improves food security and work to address factors that impact food security, such as health, cost of living and employment. We partner with people experiencing food insecurity, policymakers, organizations, and supporters, united with them in a movement to end hunger. Visit FeedingAmerica.org to learn more.