SEATTLE, Jan. 18, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- IGA grocery stores serving 17 West Coast communities are pleased to announce that more than 18 tons (2,687 grocery bags) of food was provided to local community food banks as a result of the IGA "Help Fight Hunger for the Holidays" campaign held during November and December 2010.
The 2010 "Help Fight Hunger" campaign exceeded last year's efforts by more than three tons of food, thanks to the IGA retailers and their customers whose combined contributions helped elevate the program's total donations to new heights. IGA's annual "Help Fight Hunger" campaign makes food donations easy and rewarding for everyone involved. Shoppers purchase pre-packed grocery bags valued at $20.00 for only $10.00 at their neighborhood IGA store (the IGA retailer donates the other $10.00). The stores then deliver all of the bags purchased each week to their community food banks. The stores also proudly display ribbons with their customers' names that celebrate their shoppers' donations.
Doug Stone, Manager, IGA Retail Advertising, Unified Grocers, said, "It is great to see the huge impact that the IGA 'Help Fight Hunger' campaign makes toward ensuring no one goes hungry -- especially during the holidays." Stone explained, "Helping maintain strong neighborhoods through community outreach programs is a core value of all IGAs, and the incredible amount of kindness and generosity revealed each year during the 'Help Fight Hunger' campaign is always very inspiring."
The California, Oregon and Washington IGA retailers that participated in the 2010 "Help Fight Hunger for the Holidays" campaign are all members of Unified Grocers, which is a member of the IGA Alliance and Licensed Distribution Center for IGA retailers in the western United States. The 17 IGA stores are: (California) Alpine Creek Market IGA, Alpine; Big Trees IGA, Arnold; Keith's Family Food Center IGA, Covelo; Pokerville IGA Market, Plymouth; Worton's Market IGA, Foresthill; (Oregon) C.E. Lovejoy's Brookswood Market IGA, Bend; Kenny's IGA Food Liner, Lincoln City; Kenny's IGA Village Market, Lincoln City; Sunriver Country Store IGA, Sunriver; Sunriver Marketplace IGA, Sunriver; St. Helens IGA Market Fresh, St Helens; (Washington) Allen Creek IGA Market Fresh, Marysville; Goldendale IGA Market Fresh, Goldendale; Granite Falls IGA Market Fresh, Granite Falls; Hood Canal IGA, Hoodsport; Kingston IGA Market Fresh, Kingston; and Toledo IGA Market Fresh, Toledo.
About IGA
IGA is the world's largest voluntary supermarket network with aggregate worldwide retail sales of more than $21 billion per year. The Alliance includes more than 4,400 Hometown Proud Supermarkets in 44 countries of the world, supported by 36 distribution companies and more than 55 major manufacturers, vendors and suppliers encompassing everything from grocery to equipment items. IGA has operations in 48 U.S. states and more than 40 countries, commonwealths and territories on all six inhabited continents.
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About Unified Grocers
Unified Grocers is a retailer-owned wholesale grocery distributor that supplies independent retailers throughout the western United States. Unified and its subsidiaries, which generated approximately $4 billion in sales during fiscal 2010, offer independent retailers all the resources they need to compete in the supermarket industry.
The Unified Grocers, Inc. logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=1214