Everyone needs nutritious food to thrive, and in every community in America, people are working hard to provide for themselves and their families. Yet according to the Food Bank of Northeast Georgia, 1 in 10 children across the state will go to bed hungry tonight. 

For the 11th straight year, all U.S. Walmart stores and Sam’s Clubs launched their nationwide “Fight Hunger. Spark Change.” campaign for the month of April, with the goal of providing people facing hunger with access to the food and resources they need to thrive. Funds raised from the 2023 campaign provided nearly 93,000 meals to neighbors in need across the 14 counties served by the Food Bank of Northeast Georgia. Funds raised from this year’s campaign are still being calculated.

“The generous support we receive from Walmart & Sam’s Club continues to make a major impact for the families and individuals served by the Food Bank of Northeast Georgia,” said Kelly Klein, Director of Development for the Food Bank. “Thanks to our Food Bank’s partnership with our area Walmart and Sam’s Club stores, more of our neighbors can thrive knowing they have access to food regardless of the challenges they may face. We are grateful for this longstanding campaign, which locally supports the Food Bank of Northeast Georgia as we connect our neighbors with nourishing food.”

In addition to financial support for the Food Bank, 605,838 pounds of food were rescued from Walmart and Sam’s Club stores and distribution centers in Northeast Georgia in 2023. This provides more meals to individuals and strengthens the giving power of the Food Bank of Northeast Georgia’s 225 Member organizations, who distribute food to neighbors throughout the region.

There were three ways for shoppers to participate in the campaign:

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 donated 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. 

“Serving communities and expanding access to affordable, healthy food lies at the heart of Walmart and Sam’s Club's purpose to help people live better,” said Kathleen McLaughlin, Executive Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer, Walmart and President, Walmart Foundation. "Our annual Fight Hunger. Spark Change. campaign is a way that we invite our customers, members and suppliers to fight hunger alongside us. The funds raised through this campaign go toward local Feeding America food banks, meaning we can all make a difference in our own neighborhoods."

The 20 participating suppliers for Walmart include: Bush Brothers & Company; Celsius; The Clorox Company; The Coca-Cola Company; Conagra Foods; Dole Packaged Foods; Ferrara; Ferraro; General Mills; Hain Celestial; Hershey Salty Snacks Sales Company; Kellanova; Kellogg's; Keurig Dr Pepper; Kodiak; Kraft Heinz; Monster Energy; Pepsi-Cola Advertising & Marketing, Inc.; Red Bull; and Unilever.

The 8 participating suppliers for Sam’s Club include: General Mills; Kellogg's; Kraft Heinz; Nestle; Nissin; Nongshim; Palmetto; and Unilever.

*Currently, $1 helps provide at least 10 meals secured by Feeding America® on behalf of local partner food banks.