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Local Voices

Community Support Needed for Local Food Banks Preparing for Upcoming School Year - Winn-Dixie Launches Summer Hunger Relief Backpack Program

The summer is half over and local food banks are preparing now for the needs of hungry children during the upcoming school year. With many children not knowing when they will eat their next meal, Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc., has launched today the Summer Hunger Relief Backpack Program in all of their stores to combat childhood hunger. From July 17 through August 13, Winn-Dixie encourages customers to donate at any store register to help provide meals for healthy minds and bodies to thrive in the classroom. Every dollar donated will go directly to local food banks in the communities they serve to help fill backpacks with nutritious, fresh foods and to ensure that children have healthy foundations for the school weeks ahead.

“Winn-Dixie recognizes the important role that we and our loyal customers can play in making better, stronger communities for everyone,” said Melissa Adams, BI-LO Winn-Dixie’s manager of charitable giving. “Every child deserves a nutritious meal and a healthy start to life. The Winn-Dixie Summer Hunger Relief Backpack Program provides a simple but critical way for our communities to tackle this critical issue.”

The 17 food banks benefiting from the Winn-Dixie Summer Hunger Relief Backpack Program include:

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  • All Faiths Food Bank (Sarasota, Fla.)                                                                   
  • America's Second Harvest of Coastal Georgia, Inc. (Savannah, Ga.)                             
  • America's Second Harvest of the Big Bend, Inc. (Tallahassee, Fla.)                                 
  • Bay Area Food Bank (Theodore, Ala.)                                                                       
  • Community Food Bank of Central Alabama (Birmingham, Ala.)                                           
  • Feeding America Tampa Bay (Tampa, Fla.)                                                        
  • Feeding South Florida (Pembroke Park, Fla.)                                                                        
  • Feeding the Valley Food Bank (Columbus, Ga.)                                                            
  • Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank (Baton Rouge, La.)                                                   
  • Harry Chapin Food Bank of Southwest Florida (Fort Myers, Fla.)                                      
  • Mississippi Food Network (Jackson, Miss.)                                                       
  • Montgomery Area Food Bank (Montgomery, Ala.)                                                                
  • Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida (Orlando, Fla.)                                                     
  • Second Harvest Food Bank of Greater New Orleans and Acadiana (New Orleans, La.)        
  • Second Harvest North Florida (Jacksonville, Fla.)                                                             
  • Second Harvest of South Georgia (Valdosta, Ga.)                                                        
  • Treasure Coast Food Bank (Fort Pierce, Fla.)                                                                   

Winn-Dixie has a rich history of supporting its neighborhoods and communities through foundation, company and vendor supported charitable donations and programs. The Summer Hunger Relief Backpack Program is designed to enhance that giving by building stronger, healthier communities. The company’s associates don’t just work in the stores, they and their families live in these communities and together are passionate about making them great places to live every day. Winn-Dixie encourages customers to address the needs in their communities by making donations at store registers as they do their grocery shopping. Give a dollar. Help fill a backpack.

About Winn-Dixie

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Winn-Dixie is a subsidiary of Bi-Lo Holdings, which is the ninth-largest traditional supermarket chain in the United States. Under the banner names of BI-LO and Winn-Dixie, the company employs nearly 60,000 associates who serve customers in 686 grocery stores and 482 in-store pharmacies throughout the eight southeastern states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. BI-LO and Winn-Dixie are well-known and well-respected regional brands with deep heritages, strong neighborhood ties, proud histories of giving back, talented and loyal associates, and strong commitments to providing the best possible quality and value to customers. For more information, please visit www.bi-lo.com  and www.winn-dixie.com.

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