SALISBURY, N.C., Dec. 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Throughout the 2022 college football season, Food Lion Feeds partnered with 33 higher education institutions to provide 828,000* meals to nourish neighbors in need. Through the innovative effort to tackle hunger, Food Lion Feeds provided 1,000 meals per school for every quarterback sack made by the participating institution to each school’s local Feeding America® member food bank. Food Lion Feeds was founded in 2014 by Food Lion to address food insecurity in the towns and cities it serves.
“As much as we are committed to ending hunger in the towns and cities we serve, we are just as energized by the support we rally in these football stadiums each time there is a quarterback sack and more meals are contributed to our partner food banks,” said Kevin Durkee, Manager, Food Lion Feeds, Food Lion. “While the football teams compete on the field, the students, fans and our neighbors join forces to help make a difference in their communities, working together to nourish families facing hunger.”
Liberty University Flames led the season with 41 quarterback sacks, resulting in 41,000 meals for Blue Ridge Area Food Bank in Verona, VA. Food Lion Feeds provided an additional 50,000 meals to that same food bank in memory of three University of Virginia players who lost their lives in a campus shooting in mid-November.
In 2022, Food Lion Feeds’ Sack to Give Back program benefited 16 Feeding America member food banks serving communities where each school is located. Since 2019, the Sack to Give Back program resulted in more than 2.1 million meals provided to local food banks across Food Lion’s 10-state footprint.
The participating schools, season sacks and correlating food banks which benefit from each school’s efforts are:
| School | School Location | Sacks / Meals Provided | Food Bank Benefiting from Meal Donations |
| Appalachian State University | Boone, NC | 29 sacks / 29,000 meals provided | Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest NC |
| Bowie State University | Bowie, MD | 27 sacks / 27,000 meals provided | Maryland Food Bank |
| Catawba College | Salisbury, NC | 14 sacks / 14,000 meals provided | Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina |
| Chowan University | Murfreesboro, NC | 37 sacks / 37,000 meals provided + 2,000 meals** | Food Bank of the Albemarle |
| Clemson University | Clemson, SC | 35 sacks / 35,000 meals provided | Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina |
| Coastal Carolina University | Conway, SC | 30 sacks / 30,000 meals provided | Lowcountry Food Bank |
| East Carolina University | Greenville, NC | 25 sacks / 25,000 meals provided | Food Bank of Central & Eastern NC |
| Elizabeth City State University | Elizabeth City, NC | 5 sacks / 5,000 meals provided | Food Bank of the Albemarle |
| Elon University | Elon, NC | 34 sacks / 34,000 meals provided | Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest NC |
| Fayetteville State University | Fayetteville, NC | 34 sacks / 34,000 meals provided + 8,000 meals** | Second Harvest Food Bank of Southeast NC |
| Georgia Southern University | Statesboro, GA | 18 sacks / 18,000 meals provided | America’s Second Harvest of Coastal Georgia |
| James Madison University | Harrisonburg, VA | 38 sacks / 38,000 meals provided | Blue Ridge Area Food Bank |
| Johnson C. Smith University | Charlotte, NC | 19 sacks / 19,000 meals provided | Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina |
| Liberty University | Lynchburg, VA | 41 sacks / 41,000 meals provided | Blue Ridge Area Food Bank |
| Lincoln University | Oxford, PA | 15 sacks / 15,000 meals provided | Food Bank of Delaware |
| Livingston College | Salisbury, NC | 10 sacks / 10,000 meals provided | Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina |
| North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University | Greensboro, NC | 28 sacks / 28,000 meals provided | Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest NC |
| North Carolina State University | Raleigh, NC | 25 sacks / 25,000 meals provided | Food Bank of Central & Eastern NC |
| Old Dominion University | Norfolk, VA | 30 sacks / 30,000 meals provided | Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore |
| Shaw University | Raleigh, NC | 11 sacks / 11,000 meals provided | Inter-Faith Food Shuttle |
| St. Augustine’s University | Raleigh, NC | 15 sacks / 15,000 meals provided | Food Bank of Central & Eastern NC |
| Towson University | Towson, MD | 22 sacks / 22,000 meals provided | Maryland Food Bank |
| University of Delaware | Newark, DE | 20 sacks / 20,000 meals provided | Food Bank of Delaware |
| University of Maryland | Adelphi, MD | 25 sacks / 25,000 meals provided | Capital Area Food Bank |
| University of North Carolina | Chapel Hill, NC | 16 sacks / 16,000 meals provided | Inter-Faith Food Shuttle |
| University of Richmond | Richmond, VA | 27 sacks / 27,000 meals provided + 2,000 meals** | Feed More |
| University of Virginia | Charlottesville, VA | 30 sacks / 80,000* meals provided *50,000 meals were donated in memory of three University of Virginia players who recently lost their lives | Blue Ridge Area Food Bank |
| Virginia State University | Petersburg, VA | 21 sacks / 21,000 meals provided | Feed More |
| Virginia Tech University | Blacksburg, VA | 24 sacks / 24,000 meals provided | Feeding Southwest Virginia |
| Virginia Union University | Richmond, VA | 34 sacks / 34,000 meals provided | Feed More |
| Wake Forest University | Winston-Salem, NC | 28 sacks / 28,000 meals provided | Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest NC |
| William and Mary College | Williamsburg, VA | 29 sacks / 29,000 meals provided | Virginia Peninsula Foodbank |
| Winston-Salem State University | Winston-Salem, NC | 20 sacks / 20,000 meals provided | Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest NC |
*The total meals provided for the season will increase due to upcoming playoffs, championships or bowl games.
**Food Lion Feeds provides up to 2,000 meals for every quarterback sack made in a playoff, championship or bowl game.
Editor’s note: The photos of check presentations do not represent the final results; they only recognize performance to date when the check presentation occurred.
About Food Lion
Food Lion is an omnichannel retailer committed to nourishing its neighbors during the moments that matter most. More than 82,000 associates across 1,100+ stores deliver an easy, fresh and affordable shopping experience throughout 10 Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic states. Through its ‘Count on me’ culture, Food Lion fosters a sense of belonging for all associates, promoting a diverse and inclusive environment that has supported LGBTQ+ equality for nearly two decades. Food Lion is the only company in the country to be named an ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year for 21 consecutive years. It also pioneered a food rescue program to support food-insecure neighbors. Through Food Lion Feeds, the retailer has donated more than 970 million meals to individuals and families since 2014 and has committed to donate 1.5 billion meals by 2025. Founded and based in Salisbury, N.C., since 1957, Food Lion is a company of Ahold Delhaize USA, the U.S. division of Zaandam-based Ahold Delhaize. For more information, visit foodlion.com.
CONTACTS:
Food Lion Media Relations
704-245-3317
publicrelationsteam@foodlion.com
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/fd35f671-ccff-475c-bfa0-13e0ad147feb
