Sack to Give Back program provides more than 3.8 million meals* since 2019 to address food insecurity

Food Lion Feeds Joins Forces with 35 Colleges to Provide 793,000 Meals

Caption: L-R: Greg Pervine, Store Manager, Food Lion; Dr. Aminta H. Breaux, President, Bowie State University; Clyde Doughty Jr., Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics & Recreation, Bowie State University; and Dr. Sean Coleman, Faculty Athletics Representative, Bowie State UniversityThe photo of the check presentation does not represent the final results at Bowie State University; it only represents donation to date when the check presentation occurred.

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Caption: L-R: Greg Pervine, Store Manager, Food Lion; Dr. Aminta H. Breaux, President, Bowie State University; Clyde Doughty Jr., Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics & Recreation, Bowie State University; and Dr. Sean Coleman, Faculty Athletics Representative, Bowie State UniversityThe photo of the check presentation does not represent the final results at Bowie State University; it only represents donation to date when the check presentation occurred.

SALISBURY, N.C., Jan. 08, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Throughout the 2024 collegiate football season, Food Lion Feeds' annual Sack to Give Back program huddled with 35 collegiate institutions to help provide the equivalent of 793,000 meals*. For every quarterback sack made by a participating college or university, Food Lion Feeds donated the equivalent of 1,000 meals (up to 30,000 meals per school) to help nourish college students and address food insecurity. The effort benefits campus food pantries or affiliated Feeding America® partner food banks, where each school is located throughout Food Lion's 10-state operating area. Food Lion Feeds was founded in 2014 by Food Lion to address food insecurity in the towns and cities it serves.

Since 2019, the Sack to Give Back program has resulted in the equivalent of more than 3.8 million meals* donated to local campus food pantries and food banks across Food Lion's 10-state footprint. In 2024, the program included collegiate teams across Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.

"At Food Lion, we believe no one should have to choose between dinner and rent or gas and groceries,” said Kevin Durkee, Manager, Food Lion Feeds, Food Lion. "We are committed to our collegiate partnerships and honored to partner with them to support their student food pantries, increasing access to nutritious food and setting students up for success.”

The Sack to Give Back campaign is one of many efforts that Food Lion Feeds leads in partnership with colleges. In addition to this collegiate effort, Food Lion Feeds also teams up with universities for its Score to Give More campaign which is currently underway, providing the equivalent of 100 meals (up to 30,000 meals per school) for every free throw made by participating institutions.

The Sack to Give Back participating schools and season totals include:

SchoolSchool LocationSacks / Meals Provided
Appalachian State UniversityBoone, NC23 sacks / 23,000 meals provided
Bluefield State UniversityBluefield, WV13 sacks / 13,000 meals provided
Bowie State UniversityBowie, MD17 sacks / 17,000 meals provided
Catawba CollegeSalisbury, NC17 sacks / 17,000 meals provided
Clemson UniversityClemson, SC30 sacks / 30,000 meals provided + 10,000 meals**
Coastal Carolina UniversityConway, SC28 sacks / 28,000 meals provided
East Carolina UniversityGreenville, NC20 sacks / 20,000 meals provided
Elizabeth City State UniversityElizabeth City, NC22 sacks / 22,000 meals provided
Elon UniversityElon, NC23 sacks / 23,000 meals provided
Fayetteville State UniversityFayetteville, NC19 sacks / 19,000 meals provided
Georgia Southern UniversityStatesboro, GA17 sacks / 17,000 meals provided
Hampton UniversityHampton, VA30 sacks / 30,000 meals provided
James Madison UniversityHarrisonburg, VA30 sacks / 30,000 meals provided
Johnson C. Smith UniversityCharlotte, NC12 sacks / 12,000 meals provided
Liberty UniversityLynchburg, VA19 sacks / 19,000 meals provided
Lincoln UniversityOxford, PA12 sacks / 12,000 meals provided
Livingstone CollegeSalisbury, NC25 sacks / 25,000 meals provided
North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State UniversityGreensboro, NC19 sacks / 19,000 meals provided
North Carolina State UniversityRaleigh, NC23 sacks / 23,000 meals provided
Old Dominion UniversityNorfolk, VA26 sacks / 26,000 meals provided
Shaw UniversityRaleigh, NC9 sacks / 9,000 meals provided
South Carolina State UniversityOrangeburg, SC30 sacks / 30,000 meals provided
Tennessee Tech UniversityCookeville, TN30 sacks / 30,000 meals provided
Towson UniversityTowson, MD30 sacks / 30,000 meals provided
University of DelawareNewark, DE28 sacks / 28,000 meals provided
University of MarylandCollege Park, MD14 sacks / 14,000 meals provided
University of North Carolina at Chapel HillChapel Hill, NC30 sacks / 30,000 meals provided
University of North Carolina at PembrokePembroke, NC30 sacks / 30,000 meals provided
University of VirginiaCharlottesville, VA19 sacks / 19,000 meals provided
Virginia State UniversityPetersburg, VA28 sacks / 28,000 meals provided
Virginia Tech UniversityBlacksburg, VA30 sacks / 30,000 meals provided
Virginia Union UniversityRichmond, VA17 sacks / 17,000 meals provided + 4,000 meals**
Wake Forest UniversityWinston-Salem, NC20 sacks / 20,000 meals provided
The College of William and MaryWilliamsburg, VA21 sacks / 21,000 meals provided
Winston-Salem State UniversityWinston-Salem, NC18 sacks / 18,000 meals provided
   
Through Food Lion Feeds, Food Lion has helped to provide more than 1.2 billion meals*** to individuals and families and has committed to donate 1.5 billion meals by 2025. Food Lion Feeds was founded in 2014 by Food Lion to address food insecurity in the towns and cities it serves. For more information on Food Lion Feeds' commitment to ending hunger, visit foodlion.com/feeds.

*$1 helps provide the equivalent of 10 meals secured by college food pantries or local partner food banks. 

**Food Lion Feeds provides up to 2,000 meals for every quarterback sack made in a playoff or championship game.

***Food Lion Feeds helps address food insecurity by providing product, financial and equipment donations; disaster relief and recovery efforts; investing in capital campaign support for feeding agencies; and volunteer hours by associates. These investments are converted to a meal equivalent based on various meal equivalent formulas.

About Food Lion

Food Lion is an omnichannel grocery retailer committed to nourishing its neighbors. More than 82,000 associates across 1,100+ stores deliver an easy, fresh and affordable shopping experience throughout 10 Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic states. With a focus on hunger relief, Food Lion is a pioneer in food rescue. In 2014, Food Lion Feeds was created and has since donated more than 1.2 billion meals to those who are food insecure. The retailer has committed to donate 1.5 billion meals by 2025. Founded and based in Salisbury, N.C., since 1957, Food Lion is a company of Ahold Delhaize USA, the U.S. division of Zaandam-based Ahold Delhaize. For more information, visit foodlion.com.

CONTACT:Food Lion Media Relations
 704-245-3317
 [email protected]
  
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/43c1dc56-88f2-46a4-9600-8fcf03d97337