Five Food Banks and over 170 pantries to benefit
ITASCA, Ill., Nov. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- JEWEL-OSCO, a leading Midwest food and
drug retailer, will present over $2 million in cash and food donations to
benefit five major food banks and scores of food pantries in Illinois and
Northwest Indiana.
Under the JEWEL-OSCO Hunger Relief Grant Program, coordinated in partnership
with the Greater Chicago Food Depository, the Northern Illinois Food Bank and
the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana, a total of $300,000 in grants will be
handed out to 175 food pantries. The funding will be used by the pantries to
acquire refrigeration units, stoves, shelving units, food credits and other
resources designed to improve their operational efficiency.
The Hunger Relief Grant Program is now in its second year of operation.
Qualified food pantries can apply for grants of up to $2,500 to improve their
operational efficiency, including food bank credits of up to $750, which are
administered directly through the food banks.
In addition to this program, JEWEL-OSCO will present another separate donation
of more than $1.9 million to the Greater Chicago Food Depository, the Northern
Illinois Food Bank, the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana, the Midwest Food Bank
and the River Bend Foodbank. This contribution reflects the cash and food
donations made by the public, vendors, and JEWEL-OSCO during the company's
"Hunger Action Month" food drive campaign in September.
"Hunger relief is a key focus area for JEWEL-OSCO," said JEWEL-OSCO President
Keith Nielsen. "These difficult economic times have impacted many families.
Our company and associates will continue to support the important work being
carried out by the food banks - and their network of local food pantries -
participating in our Hunger Relief Grant Program and Hunger Action Month
activities."
About JEWEL-OSCO
JEWEL-OSCO, a SUPERVALU company, operates 182 stores in Illinois, Iowa and
Indiana. With a market-leading position in Chicago, JEWEL-OSCO stores offer
consumers the convenience of combined grocery and pharmacy retail, in addition
to services such as fuel centers at select locations. Originally established
in 1899, the company and its associates remain committed to the communities
they serve. For more information about JEWEL-OSCO, please visit
www.jewelosco.com or www.oscopharmacy.com.
About SUPERVALU Inc.
SUPERVALU INC. is one of the largest companies in the U.S. grocery channel
with estimated annual sales of $41 billion. SUPERVALU serves customers across
the United States through a network of approximately 4,300 stores composed of
approximately 1,200 traditional and premium stores, including 850 in-store
pharmacies; 1,180 hard discount Save-A-Lot stores, of which 860 are operated
by licensee owners; and 1,920 independent stores serviced primarily by the
company's traditional food distribution business. SUPERVALU has approximately
170,000 employees. For more information about SUPERVALU visit
www.supervalu.com.
About the Greater Chicago Food Depository
The Greater Chicago Food Depository, Chicago's food bank, is a nonprofit food
distribution and training center providing food for hungry people while
striving to end hunger in our community. The Food Depository distributes
donated and purchased food through a network of 600 pantries, soup kitchens
and shelters to 500,000 adults and children in Cook County every year. Last
year, the Food Depository distributed 58 million pounds of nonperishable food
and fresh produce, dairy products and meat, the equivalent of 119,000 meals
every day. The Food Depository's programs and services for children, older
adults and the unemployed and underemployed address the root causes of hunger.
For more information, log onto www.chicagosfoodbank.org or call 773-247-FOOD.
About Northern Illinois Food Bank
Northern Illinois Food Bank (NIFB) is a non-profit organization that provides
food to all those in need through its 520 partner agencies in the following 13
counties - Boone, DuPage, DeKalb, Grundy, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Lake,
McHenry, Ogle, Stephenson, Will and Winnebago. NIFB acquires, gathers,
handles, and distributes donated, government, and purchased food to more than
50,000 different people each week through local food pantries, soup kitchens,
shelters, youth activity centers and other food assistance sites. In Fiscal
Year 2009 NIFB distributed over 27 million pounds of food. The Food Bank has
recently launched a Capital Campaign to build a new Food Distribution and
Community Nutrition Center to enable them to handle more food more efficiently
to meet the increasing demand.
About the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana
The Food Bank of Northwest Indiana is a hunger relief organization that
acquires, sorts and distributes food and grocery products to local charities
such as food pantries, soup kitchens, homeless shelters and after school
feeding programs. In addition, the Food Bank provides direct emergency food
relief services to underserved individuals such as children and seniors
through our BackPack, Kids Cafe, Community Cupboard and Mobile Pantry
programs. The Food Bank distributes more than 2.8 million pounds of food
annually and serves more than 200,000 households in Northwest Indiana.
SOURCE Jewel-Osco
Karen May, Communications Manager of JEWEL-OSCO, +1-630-948-6211
