SIKESTON – For the 12th straight year, all U.S. Walmart stores and Sam’s Club locations are launching the Fight Hunger. Spark Change. campaign, including right here in southeast Missouri.
The goal of the annual cause marketing campaign is to provide people facing hunger with access to the food and resources they say they need to thrive.
The campaign will run in stores and online from March 1-March 31, with three ways for shoppers to participate:
- By donating at check-out in stores or clubs or round up at Walmart.com and the Walmart app.
- By purchasing participating products* in-store or online at Walmart.com or SamsClub.com. For every purchase of a participating product, the supplier will donate the monetary equivalent** of at least one meal ($0.10) on behalf of a Feeding America partner food bank at Walmart and five meals ($0.50) at Sam’s Club, up to applicable limits. See specially marked packages for full details.
- By donating at Feeding America’s Fight Hunger. Spark Change. campaign donation site at either www.feedingamerica.org/walmart or www.feedingamerica.org/samsclub
Since its inception in 2014, the campaign has generated more than $206 million and helped secure 2 billion meals* for the Feeding America network of local food banks.
“Campaigns like Fight Hunger. Spark Change. and support from companies like Walmart and Sam’s Club are so important to our work,” said Joey Keys, chief executive officer of Southeast Missouri Food Bank. “Many neighbors make difficult decisions every day to make their dollars stretch far enough to cover all their bills. High food costs have led many people to have to make hard choices when it comes to spending their dollars. Last year, this campaign brought in more than $23,000 to our food bank, which helped provide food for more than 90,000 meals. We are thankful for this continued partnership.”
Everyone needs nutritious food to thrive, and in every community in America, people are working hard to provide for themselves and their families. Yet in 2023, 47.4 million people — 1 in 7 people — experienced food insecurity in the U.S. In SEMO Food Bank’s 16-county service area, 1 in 6 neighbors and 1 in 5 children are food insecure.
Those are the highest numbers in a decade, underscoring the need for more charitable food assistance in southeast Missouri and beyond.
“For the past 20 years, Feeding America, Walmart and Sam’s Club have worked together to fight hunger and help people live better in the communities we serve,” said Julie Gehrki, president, Walmart Foundation and senior vice president, philanthropy at Walmart. “During the Fight Hunger. Spark Change. campaign, we invite our customers and members to join us in providing access to food for our neighbors by supporting Southeast Missouri Food Bank.”
The 24 participating suppliers for Walmart include: B&G Foods, Inc., Bush Brothers & Company, Celsius, The Coca-Cola Company, Conagra Foods, Dole Packaged Foods, LLC, Ferrero USA, General Mills, Hershey Salty Snacks, Kellanova, Keurig Dr. Pepper, Kodiak, Kraft Heinz, Lipton Tea, Ben’s Original, Materne, Mondelez International, Olipop, Pepsi-Cola Advertising & Marketing, Inc., Hidden Valley Original Ranch, The Hain Celestial Group, WK Kellogg Co, Unilever and Utz Quality Foods.
The six participating suppliers for Sam’s Club include: Kellanova, Kodiak, Kraft Heinz, General Mills, Nestlé and Unilever.
Southeast Missouri Food Bank serves 80,000 individuals each month; its service area has some of the highest rates of hunger in the state, with 7 of the 10 most food-insecure counties in Missouri.
For more information, visit: feedingamerica.org/campaigns/fight-hunger-spark-change
*Currently, $1 helps provide at least 10 meals secured by Feeding America® on behalf of local partner food banks.
** For every purchase of a participating product, the supplier will donate the monetary equivalent of at least one meal ($0.10) on behalf of a Feeding America partner food bank at Walmart and five meals ($0.50) at Sam’s Club, up to applicable limits. See specially marked packages for full details.
About Southeast Missouri Food Bank
The mission of Southeast Missouri Food Bank is to end hunger and leverage the power of food to build healthy communities. The food bank provides food to 140 charitable and disaster relief programs in Southeast Missouri. These member agencies include food pantries, soup kitchens, domestic violence and homeless shelters. Southeast Missouri Food Bank also holds regular mobile food distributions and provides monthly boxes of food to 5,575 senior citizens and weekend backpacks of food during the school year to 1,200 students in area school districts. The food bank’s 16-county coverage area includes Bollinger, Butler, Cape Girardeau, Carter, Dunklin, Madison, Mississippi, New Madrid, Pemiscot, Perry, Reynolds, Ripley, Scott, Ste. Genevieve, Stoddard and Wayne counties. Those interested in helping can do so by making a tax-deductible contribution, donating food, or scheduling a time to volunteer. Visit semofoodbank.org for more information.
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.
Walmart
Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) is a people-led, tech-powered omnichannel retailer helping people save money and live better — anytime and anywhere — in stores, online, and through their mobile devices. Each week, approximately 255 million customers and members visit more than 10,500 stores and numerous eCommerce websites in 19 countries. With fiscal year 2024 revenue of $648 billion, Walmart employs approximately 2.1 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, on X (formerly known as Twitter) at twitter.com/walmart, and on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/company/walmart.
Sam’s Club
Sam’s Club, the $86 billion division of Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT), is a membership club that is pioneering the retail experience, providing exclusive access to value, convenience and modern omnichannel shopping options to millions of members in 600 clubs across the U.S. and Puerto Rico. With over 40 years of innovating in the category, Sam’s Club continues to redefine club membership shopping with its curated assortment of quality fresh food and Member’s Mark® items, in addition to market leading technologies and services like Scan & Go™️, curbside pickup and home delivery. Visit the Sam’s Club Newsroom, shop at SamsClub.com or connect with Sam’s Club on LinkedIn, X, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Pinterest.