Giant Food to Host Inaugural Stuff-A-Truck Food Drive

Giant Food Stores in Charlottesville to Collect Donations on December 11

Landover, Md. (December 9, 2009) – Giant Food is hosting the inaugural Charlottesville Stuff-A-Truck food drive on Friday, December 11 from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. to help alleviate hunger in the Blue Ridge region this holiday season. All donations will directly benefit Giant Food’s community partner, The Blue Ridge Area Food Bank. Local residents are encouraged to help fill Blue Ridge Area Food Bank trucks with non-perishable items at the following two Giant Food locations.

Giant Food Store                                               Giant Food Store

Rivanna Ridge                                                     Seminole Square

1900 Abbey Road                                             220 Zan Road

Charlottesville, VA 22911                                Charlottesville, VA 22901

Founded in 1981, the Food Bank’s mission is to reduce hunger through programs and partnerships which efficiently obtain and distribute nutritious food to people in need in 25 counties and nine cities in northern and central Virginia. More than 115,000 residents in this region live at or below the poverty level and are at risk of going hungry. In 2009, the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank distributed 16.8 million pounds of food, and projects distributing18 million pounds in 2010. Currently, the Food Bank’s greatest need is for non-perishable, high-protein items that can be prepared and prolonged, such as grains, pasta, and canned fruits, vegetables, beans, and fish.

“This year, the need for food donations is greater than ever before. We are excited to partner with the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank to host the first annual Charlottesville Stuff-A-Truck and encourage every member of the community to participate,” said Robin Michel, president of Giant Food of Landover, Md. “During these challenging economic times, donations of any size can make a huge difference to our community members in need.”

Giant Food created Stuff-A-Truck in 2002 in an effort to fight hunger in the Washington metropolitan region and this year is expanding the event to include Charlottesville, Va. and the Blue Ridge area. The Blue Ridge Area Food Bank serves more than 25,000 people per month and this inaugural Stuff-A-Truck will provide even more to those in need this holiday season.

About Giant Food of Landover, Md.
Giant Food LLC, headquartered in Landover, Md., operates 180 supermarkets in Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, and the District of Columbia, and employs approximately 22,000 associates. Included within the 180 stores are 163 full-service pharmacies. Giant is owned by Netherlands-based Ahold. For more information on Giant, visit www.GiantFood.com.

Editor’s Note: I am going to move this post/press release copy-and-paste to the sideblog later today.