Hannaford helps out in fighting hunger with donations, lots of food

November 14, 2008

By Mel Huff Times Argus Staff - Published: November 14, 2008

BURLINGTON – Hannaford Supermarkets, the New England grocer with a tradition of hunger-relief philanthropy, is celebrating its 125th birthday by donating $25,000 to each of the food banks in the five states where it operates – a total of $125,000.

Thursday morning Andy Willette, the district manager for Vermont, presented a $25,000 check to the Vermont Foodbank's interim chief executive officer, Chris Foster, at the Chittenden Emergency Food Shelf.

Willette observed that Hannaford typically celebrates with its community partners. "What's the right thing to do, given the economic times that we're in?" he asked. "It was a no-brainer for us to partner with our food bank friends. It just seems so appropriate with all that's going on right now to work with these folks. They're no stranger to us, and we're no strangers to them."

For more than a year, most of Hannaford's 14 Vermont stores have been pulling meat off their shelves on the "freeze-by" date, freezing it and donating it to the food bank. The food bank brings the frozen meat to its Barre warehouse, inspects and rewraps it and ships it to its partner agencies.

Hannaford also donates fresh meat used in the food bank's kitchen to make prepared meals that are popular with the elderly. Last year, between frozen and fresh products, Hannaford donated more than 100,000 pounds of meat to the Vermont Foodbank.

"This gift could not have come at a better time," Foster said, adding that it's uncertain what the fundraising season will be like. She said food shelves, meal sites, senior centers and after-school programs are reporting a 25 to 30 percent increase in demand and noted that the $25,000 will provide 75,000 pounds of food – more than 62,000 meals. Citing Hannaford's donations of food, money and volunteer hours (Willette volunteers at the food bank), Foster called the business "a true leader in the fight against hunger."

The $25,000 check was only part of Hannaford's gift.

For the fifth year in a row, Hannaford is sponsoring the "Fund-a-Feast" campaign. The company has assembled boxes containing cans of gravy, mashed potatoes, stuffing mix, mushroom soup, green beans, corn, lasagna, tomato sauce and other items which customers can buy for $10 and inscribe with a personal message. The boxes are located near the registers.

Most stores will give the boxes to the food shelves in their communities, and the food shelves will pair them with holiday turkeys. The South Barre store will give its boxes to the Vermont Foodbank, which will distribute them to area food shelves, said Judy Stermer, a food bank representative. Last year the campaign raised $30,000 in Vermont.

In return for the $10 donation to the Fund-a-Feast campaign, customers will receive a $50 coupon book from Hannaford. Starting Nov. 30, they can receive another $50 coupon book by buying a $5 gift card for the Vermont Foodbank. Both the Fund-a-Feast and gift card programs run through Dec. 27.

Willette surprised the Vermont Foodbank staff at the check presentation by announcing another program, "Buy One, Give One," that they had not been told about. Starting Dec. 7 and running for two weeks, each time a customer buys a Hannaford soup or cereal with a Buy One, Give One tag, Hannaford will donate the same item to the Vermont Foodbank.

"It's like getting an extra birthday president!" exclaimed Edward Fox, who shares the interim chief executive officer position with Foster. "We didn't know about that piece. It's great! Just to get these other things they've done for us, and then they say, oh, yeah, we're going to do one more. We're really happy!"

November 14, 2008

Press Room