Food Lion donates $100,000 to Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- Hundreds of families may have some extra food on the table this holiday season thanks to the $100,000 donation from Food Lion to the Food Bank of Central/Eastern North Carolina

"We're committed as a company to donating and and giving 1 billion meals by 2025 and ultimately long-term solutions to solving hunger in the communities as we operate in," Food Lion Director of Operations Charles Inman said.

The check for the donation came in Thursday and food bank leaders say it is right on time.

"We've been dealing with supply chain issues throughout the pandemic, and we've been dealing with pricing increases with things throughout the pandemic and it's costing us more to get food in," Jennifer Caslin said.

The money from the donation will be given out in the form of gift cards. Food Lion leaders said that will benefit everyone.

"It's actually a very innovative way to help, so we're getting gift cards right now instead of food because we need all the food we can get in our stores to sell but what it also does is it allows families to choose what they want (to buy) and right now especially during the holiday season is very important,' said Inman.

The most important thing for both businesses is being a help to the food insecure communities every year.

"Right now our agencies are seeing about a 35 percent increase in people who are visiting them for help, so there is definitely still an increase in need," said Caslin.

"Food insecurity especially through the pandemic has increased and so our support of the food bank and solving that has also increased," said Inman.

Here's the even better news: you can help too! The 35th Annual ABC11 Together Food Drive starts November 20th and runs until December 8th.

This year's goal is to provide 1.7 million meals for our neighbors in need by giving to the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina and the Second Harvest Food Bank of Southeast NC.

Here's how you can help:

Pick A Box: Visit a Food Lion near you and purchase a "$5 Food Box."

Click A Box: Give a monetary donation here or on our ABC11 Facebook page.