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Local San Francisco-area Grocery Outlets, Food Agencies and Community Members Team Up to Fight Hunger

Local San Francisco-area Grocery Outlets, Food Agencies and Community Members Team Up to Fight Hunger

Grocery Outlet Announces Fourth Annual Independence from Hunger® Campaign

 

Emeryville, CA – (June 24, 2014) Grocery Outlet will launch their Fourth Annual Independence from Hunger® Food Drive on July 1, 2014. This annual giving campaign is an effort among Grocery Outlet stores, their customers and San Francisco-area emergency food assistance agencies to fight poverty and hunger in San Francisco and its surrounding communities.

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For the fourth consecutive year, the USDA reported that 1 in every 6 Americans is food insecure and 46.5 million Americans (15%) were reported as living at or below the poverty level in 2012 (U.S. Census Bureau, Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the U.S. - Data collected in 2012 and released September, 2013.). Throughout July, traditionally a time when food agencies experience the greatest need, San Francisco-area Grocery Outlets will encourage their customers and employees to donate food and cash in support of regional food assistance agencies.

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Independence from Hunger® is a month-long, company-wide campaign where customers can donate food and/or cash to support local food assistance partners. San Francisco-area Grocery Outlet stores are teaming up with a number of local agencies in their community and all donations received throughout the campaign will go directly to each store’s designated agency.

 

Customers can make a difference by visiting their local Grocery Outlet and participating in one of these easy steps:

·         Look for specially-marked food items. These are items that each store’s designated food agency has identified as "high-need" items. Purchase these products and place in the collection bin at the front of the store.

·         Pick up a pre-made bag that is filled with an assortment of groceries that have been identified as needed.

·         Tell your cashier that you'd like to make a cash donation at the register. Donations will go directly to each store’s food agency partner. Donate $1, $5 or round up your change.

  • Pick up information at an San Francisco-area Grocery Outlet store about hunger, food insecurity and local/national resources for people in need. Be informed and willing to help.
  • Join the events at an San Francisco-area store to support the Independence from Hunger® food drive.

 

In July of 2011, Grocery Outlet stores and their customers collectively donated more than $223,000 in cash, gift card and food donations to help support local food assistance agencies as part of the Independence from Hunger® food drive.  In July of 2012, donations increased to over $292,000 —more than half a million dollars donated in just two years! In July of 2013, the total reached was $300,000 and in 2014 the goal is to raise enough to put the total campaign collection mark at over $1 million. 

 

“The face of poverty has changed and hunger is a reality in every community throughout the country,” said MacGregor Read, Co-CEO, Grocery Outlet Inc. “We are eager for the Fourth Annual Independence from Hunger® Campaign because it is a time for communities to rally together and help those in need. All of the donations collected at each San Francisco-area store will directly impact people in that community.”


Each San Francisco-area Grocery Outlet store is independently owned and operated by families who are committed to giving back to the local community. Customers can help make a difference by visiting your local Grocery Outlet and participating in the Independence from Hunger® food drive. Find more information by visiting GroceryOutlet.com.

 

San Francisco-area Grocery Outlet stores and their food agency partners include:

Pinole: 1460 Fitzgerald Dr.

Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano

Geary: 6333 Geary Blvd.

The Food Security Collective

South City: 125 Hickey Blvd.

St Vincent De Paul

Novato: 1535 S. Novato Blvd.

Marin County Food Bank, Christ Church North Bay

Visitacion Valley: 2630 Bayshore Blvd.

Red Cross

Palo Alto: 3445 Alma St.

InnVision Shelter Network

 

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About Grocery Outlet

Based in Emeryville, California, Grocery Outlet offers extreme bargains on brand name merchandise, with prices often up to 60% less than conventional retailers. The largest “extreme-value” grocer in the U.S., Grocery Outlet has more than 200 locations in California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Washington. Grocery Outlet carries refrigerated and frozen foods, fresh produce, fresh meat, organics, dry groceries, beer and wine, health and beauty care, over-the-counter drugs, household products, toys and gifts. A third-generation family-led company founded in 1946, Grocery Outlet’s mission has always been to provide customers a fun place to find extreme values on name brands they trust. Most stores are independently owned and operated by locally based families. For more information, please visit www.GroceryOutlet.com.  

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