BJ's Charitable Foundation Donates $50,000 to Help the Capital Area Food Bank Provide Healthy Summer Meals for Kids

"BJ's is committed to nourishing our communities and helping families thrive, and we're excited to support the Capital Area Food Bank's Hunger-Free Summer Meals Program," said Kirk Saville, executive director, BJ's Charitable Foundation. "Hunger-relief programs are crucial for children and families who lose access to school lunches in the summer. Through our partnership with Feeding America, we're helping to provide access to fresh, healthy food to families when school is out for the summer." 

With BJ's $50,000 grant, the Capital Area Food Bank will be able to distribute additional healthy meals and snacks at 58 Summer Meal partner locations five days a week during the summer months.  

"We're thankful for BJ's commitment to ending childhood hunger and supporting our Summer Meals Program," said Hilary Salmon, Director of Communications for the Capital Area Food Bank. "With this generous donation, we will be able to have a larger impact this summer and increase the number of healthy snacks we distribute to children and families."

During the school year, more than 22 million children receive free or reduced-price meals through the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs. In the summer months, fewer than 4 million children receive free or reduced-priced meals through the USDA Summer Food Service Program. From mobile and school pantries to congregate meal sites in public areas like summer camps, the Feeding America network operates different program models to increase the number of meals provided to children over the summer.

Since 2009, BJ's has provided ongoing support to Feeding America through the BJ's Charitable Foundation and BJ's Feeding Communities® program, helping local food banks successfully expand their programs to reach wider and more diverse audiences.

In addition to summer programming and capacity-building grants from the BJ's Charitable Foundation, BJ's has secured over 70 million pounds of donated food, including fresh produce, frozen meats and fish, baked goods and dairy items, and helped distribute 58 million meals to neighbors in need through the BJ's Feeding Communities® program.

To learn more about the BJ's, visit BJs.com.

About BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc.
Headquartered in Westborough, Massachusetts, BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. is the leading operator of membership warehouse clubs in the Eastern United States. The company currently operates 215 clubs and 134 BJ's Gas® locations in 16 states. 

BJ's provides a one-stop shopping destination filled with top-quality, leading brands, including its exclusive Wellsley Farms^® and Berkley Jensen^® brands, along with USDA Choice meats, premium produce and delicious organics, many in supermarket sizes. BJ's is also the only major membership warehouse club to accept all manufacturers' coupons.

About the Capital Area Food Bank
The Capital Area Food Bank is the largest organization in the Washington metro area working to solve hunger and its companion problems: chronic undernutrition, heart disease and obesity. By partnering with 444 community organizations in DC, Maryland and Virginia, as well as delivering food directly into hard to reach areas, the CAFB is helping 540,000 people each year get access to good, healthy food. That's 12 percent of our region's mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, sisters, brothers, and grandparents. To learn more, visit: capitalareafoodbank.org, or find the Capital Area Food Bank on Facebook at facebook.com/CapitalAreaFoodBank, and Twitter at @foodbankmetrodc.

SOURCE BJ's Wholesale Club

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