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News ReleasesFrom Shelves to Tables: Wal-Mart, Oregon Food Bank Join ForcesWal-Mart Foundation also donates $275,000 in food and funds PORTLAND, Ore., Nov. 19, 2008 – Oregon Food Bank and Wal-Mart today announced a significant new partnership to get food to more hungry Oregonians. From the shelves of all Wal-Mart’s 16 Supercenters in Oregon and two in southwest Washington, donations of nutritious produce, deli meat, beef, chicken, dairy and other groceries will move through the Oregon Food Bank Network, including its nationally-recognized Fresh Alliance program, to the tables of people in need. The Wal-Mart Foundation also announced a $275,000 donation of cash and food to Oregon Food Bank. OFB will use the funds to acquire and distribute more food to meet the dramatic surge in requests for emergency food. The grant will also help fund a truck driver and truck maintenance to safely transport food from Wal-Mart stores to the participating regional food banks in the Oregon Food Bank Network, including: OFB-Metro Services, Portland; OFB-Washington County Services, Hillsboro; South Coast Food Share, Coos Bay; Linn-Benton Food Share, Corvallis; FOOD for Lane County, Eugene; Josephine County Food Bank, Grants Pass; Klamath/Lake Counties Food Bank, Klamath Falls; Community Connection, La Grande; ACCESS Food Share, Medford; Southeast Oregon Regional Food Bank, Ontario; CAPECO Food Share, Pendleton; NeighborImpact Food Bank, Redmond; Marion-Polk Food Share, Salem. In addition, Wal-Mart announced it will host an in-store food drive in April. (Details to be announced in the spring.) “We thank Wal-Mart for its significant commitment to reduce waste and help fight hunger in Oregon,” said Rachel Bristol, executive director and CEO of Oregon Food Bank. “Wal-Mart’s support is especially welcome as the need for emergency food skyrockets throughout Oregon and southwest Washington. “Layoffs, foreclosures and other economic disruptions are taking a terrible toll on our neighbors,” she said. “Almost half of our 20 regional food banks report that distribution of emergency food boxes has reached record levels.” First quarter reports of the OFB Network show that food-box distribution throughout Oregon climbed 13 percent and Clark County, Wash., increased 8 percent in comparison to the same period a year ago. In some parts of Oregon, distribution has increased more than 40 percent. That comes on the heels of a U.S.D.A. announcement this week that Oregon has jumped from number 19 (2002-04) to 15 (2005-07) in the ranking of the nation’s states for food insecurity and moved from number 18 to 3 in the “very low food security” category (previously known as “food insecurity with hunger”). “Wal-Mart is meeting a very basic and critical need for thousands of Oregonians by joining forces with Oregon Food Bank. Our Supercenters will be giving nutritious food from our shelves to the regional food banks who will distribute the food to the tables of families in the communities we serve,” said Karianne Fallow, Wal-Mart senior manager of public affairs. “This reflects our philosophy of operating globally and giving back locally.” The partnership with Oregon Food Bank is the local example of the national partnership between Wal-Mart Supercenters and Feeding America. By the end of 2009, Feeding America expects its affiliated community food banks across the U.S. to be connected with each of Walmart’s 2,724 Supercenters and Neighborhood Markets and its 594 Sam’s Club locations to transport food from stores shelves to the tables of families in need – often in less than 24 hours. About Philanthropy at Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) and the Wal-Mart Foundation are proud to support the charitable causes that are important to customers and associates in their own neighborhoods. Through its philanthropic programs and partnerships, the Wal-Mart Foundation supports initiatives focused on enhancing opportunities in education, job skills training, sustainability and health. In 2007, Wal-Mart, Sam’s Club and the Wal-Mart Foundation gave $296 million to communities across the United States. To learn more, visit www.walmartfoundation.org. About Oregon Food Bank Oregon Food Bank is a nonprofit, charitable organization. It is the hub of a statewide network of 915 hunger-relief agencies serving Oregon and Clark County, Wash. OFB recovers food from farms, manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, individuals and government sources. It then distributes that food to 20 regional food banks across Oregon. Sixteen are independent charitable organizations. OFB directly operates the four regional food banks serving the Portland metropolitan area, southeast Oregon and Tillamook County. OFB also works to eliminate the root causes of hunger through advocacy and public education.
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