Social
From the farm to the table – food matters to families around the globe. As the world’s largest food retailer, we have an opportunity and responsibility to deliver on this key necessity of life. Every family should have access to affordable, nutritious, sustainably grown food. But for too many families, this simply is not reality. Walmart and the Walmart Foundation are working with farmers and suppliers, and collaborating with nonprofit organizations around the world, to ensure more people have access to the foods they want and need. We envision a day when no individual has to wonder where his or her next meal will come from.
Fighting hunger
We’re leveraging the business strengths of Walmart to address hunger and make healthier, more sustainably grown food a reality for low-income families. Our business and philanthropic efforts to fight hunger are taking root in our global markets. While approaches vary, reducing global hunger is a priority for many of our markets.
For Walmart U.S., hunger relief is a signature initiative. Children and families experience hunger in every county in the U.S., and the scope of this issue calls for a solution that’s both national and local. Our footprint positions us to be a leader on a large scale as well as a champion in the neighborhoods where we do business.
For Walmart U.S., hunger relief is a signature initiative. People experience hunger in every county in the U.S., and the scope of this issue calls for a solution that’s both national and local. Our footprint positions us to be a leader on a large scale as well as a champion in the neighborhoods where we do business.
In 2010, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation launched Fighting Hunger Together – a $2 billion cash and in-kind commitment through 2015 to fight hunger in the U.S. This initiative leverages Walmart’s size and resources to provide nutritious food and the Walmart Foundation’s ability to grant funding to nonprofits that help elevate and engage others in addressing the issue. We’re pleased to report that, by the time this report was published, we’d reached $260 million in cash and $2.6 billion in in-kind donations, delivering on our commitment one year early.
- In 2013, we donated more than 571 million pounds of food – the equivalent of 369 million meals – to local food banks and hunger relief organizations like Feeding America and its 200 food banks across the nation that provide access to meals for millions of low-income families. In addition, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation have donated more than 180 trucks and refrigerated trailers, ensuring that fresh, nutritious products are delivered safely to those in need.
- In 2013, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation contributed nearly $80 million in national, state and local grants to nonprofits across the nation, bringing our four-year total to $260 million. Our strategy centers on providing grants to charitable organizations working to increase access to meals for low-income families. Last year, Walmart Foundation grants provided 8.3 million breakfasts to 55,000 children through the federally reimbursed breakfast meal program, equipped more than 1.1 million income-conscious individuals with cooking and shopping skills to help stretch their food budgets and provided more than 13 million meals to 275,000 children who might miss out on nutritious meals when they aren’t in school.
- With a U.S. associate base of more than 1.3 million, we know we can make an impact nationwide by inspiring associates to fight hunger in their local communities. We see increases in participation in both our external engagement campaigns and associate volunteerism. In fact, 4,100 associates volunteered more than 13,000 hours toward hunger relief efforts in 2013. More than $250,000 was donated to nonprofits because of associate volunteer efforts through Walmart’s Volunteerism Goes Viral Campaign.
- We work with others who are fighting hunger. These collaborations magnify our impact. For example, we engaged 10 of our suppliers in our Fighting Hunger Together campaign, resulting in $4.1 million in additional donations to fight hunger. We also actively work with other corporations who are committed to this cause to share learnings.
Walmart knows that there are other opportunities around fighting hunger that can be addressed, like increasing access to healthy food and sustainable farming practices. By working with farmers and reducing food waste, we lower costs and help the environment at the same time. Our commitment to fighting hunger is good for society, good for the environment and good for business.