The South Texas Food Bank joined forces with Walmart and Sam's Club in support of their annual Fight Hunger. Spark Change Campaign, which aims to create awareness and help Feeding America's network of food banks and food pantries continue their mission of assisting people experiencing food insecurity in their respective communities. This past April marked the 11th annual campaign.
The South Texas Food Bank is the beneficiary for Webb, Val Verde, Maverick, Dimmit and Starr Counties.
In the spirit of true partnership, The South Texas Food Bank’s Marketing and Development team collaborated with Walmart Supercenter (Zapata Highway location) associates to produce a short video that highlights the process of the crucial retail donation program.
Walmart and Sam’s Club are two of the food bank’s major and longstanding donors of food products. These products are then distributed to clients through our Emergency Food Assistance Program and Adopt-A-Family Program.
The short film follows the life cycle of a Walmart product, a Great Value cereal box named “Crispy”, as it embarks on a journey from retail shelves to the home of a South Texas Food Bank client - a process very familiar in the world of food banking. Original footage was shot on location. Additionally, the video features voice over explaining the role of retail donation and how it aids the food bank in providing food assistance.
“The public is aware that food bank’s receive food donations from food retail stores like Walmart and Sam’s Club, but many don’t understand how the retail donation process works,” said Alma Boubel, South Texas Food Bank CEO.
“Retail donation is essential in ensuring that our food banks are able to provide for the demand in our service area so we are very grateful to both Walmart and Sam’s Club for their support,” concluded Boubel.
At the end of the month, Walmart employees received a private screening at the participating store, where food bank representatives spoke to them about the impact of the campaign and the importance of their support during the campaign and throughout the year with retail donations.
The nationwide campaign ran in stores and online from April 1- 29. Shoppers had the option of donating at check-out in stores, or round up at Walmart.com and the Walmart app. Additionally, shoppers could contribute by purchasing participating products either in-store or online at Walmart.com or SamsClub.com. Monetary donations were also accepted at Feeding America’s Fight Hunger. Spark Change. donation site.
The food bank released the video on their website - southtexasfoodbank.org-
for those interested in learning more about the campaign and the role of retail donation at the South Texas Food Bank.