Company : Schnuck Markets, Inc.
Program category : 2020

Origins:

Our primary nonprofit partnership with Operation Food Search (OFS), a local hunger relief organization and our largest benefactor, spans four decades (41 years). Working together we strive to fight food insecurity and hunger in the region. Schnucks began donating food to OFS in 1979, two years before the organization was officially incorporated. Founded in 1981, OFS provides food nutrition education and services and food access advocacy to underserved communities that Schnucks calls home. OFS empowers families with a range of programs and services proven to reduce food insecurity and increase access to healthy and affordable food. Schnucks daily food donations to OFS has played a fundamental role in the fight against hunger. Our store teams work daily to nourish our communities by donating food that cannot be sold but is still able to be consumed. In recent years, Schnucks has grown the food donation program with OFS. Today, we give more than $16 million in food each year to our local communities through more than 330 partner food pantries, homeless shelters and transition houses in 31 counties in the region. Our partnership with OFS allows us to feed more than 200,000 people a month. By working together with our nonprofit partners, customers, vendor partners and civic leaders in the fight against food insecurity and hunger, we strive to make every community that Schnucks calls home, better. OFS: https://www.operationfoodsearch.org/

Contribution:

At Schnucks, our mission goes beyond the food that we sell in our stores. By way of our partnership with OFS, we have donated more than $160M worth of food to support those most in need. Fifty-three-percent of all food donated to OFS is donated by Schnucks, making the regional grocer, the organization’s largest contributor. We also support other food outreach programs in our surrounding markets. This summer, 53,000 pounds of food were donated by Schnucks customers during the annual Shop Out Hunger region-wide food drive and will provide meals for more than 145,000 individuals. In August 2020, the Urban League hosted back-to-school supplies and food distribution events designed to help children and families throughout our communities start the school year off with needed tools and supplies. Schnucks sponsored one of 23 drive-thru events and donated $22,000 in food for more than 5,000 families.

Objectives:

As a leading regional grocer, we believe that we are uniquely positioned to partner with organizations that fight food insecurity and hunger. Across our four-state footprint, we partner with food banks, food pantries and hunger relief organizations to help feed those who are among the most vulnerable in our communities. Each year, Schnucks donates more than $16 million in food to help those in need. Whether it’s through permitting nonprofit solicitation events or providing donations for a cause that aligns with our corporate giving priorities, we are committed to working together with nonprofit organizations to help strengthen the communities that we call home.

Impact:

We have formed an amazing community partnership with Operation Food Search (OFS) that is impactful in our communities. Partnerships like the one we have with OFS is an important component of our community advocacy efforts. This partnership has enhanced community engagement in projects, increased community awareness of food insecurity and hunger and established a framework for the continued support of services that support our mission of actively fighting food insecurity and hunger in our communities. Today, we are proud of the work we have done and will continue working with OFS in our fight against food insecurity and hunger. Our work with OFS is highlighted below: Since inception of the organization Schnucks has donated more $160M worth of food to OFS. Food donation this year will again hit $16M mark Feed more than 200,000 people a month Partner with more than 330 community partners in 31countries in region Nourishing people’s lives is rooted in our mission and lies at the core of everything we do as a company. While we are encouraged by the work that we have already done in conjunction with our partners at OFS, we know that more work is necessary to eradicate this global crisis of hunger. We will continue to challenge ourselves and our community partners to take a stronger stance in our neighborhoods by expanding our reach and impact to help those with the greatest needs, and giving them access to the food they need to feed their families.

Quote:

Todd Schnuck, Chairman/CEO: “We take pride in the fact that we are the grocery shopping destination for millions of customers. Because of them, we are able to give back to the communities we serve. It’s what my grandparents believed in when they served customers with one small store, and it’s something we still believe in now that we operate 112 stores in four states. Every year we donate millions of dollars worth of food as well as financial contributions to support causes important to our company, teammates and customers. We are proud to partner with nonprofit organizations that are working to strengthen our communities and are aligned with our community pillar of reducing hunger and food insecurity. Schnucks cares and believes it’s our obligation to support our communities. It’s why nourishing people’s lives is at the heart of everything we do and the reason we exist as a company.”

Support Statement:

As a program partner of Schnuck Markets for more than forty years, Operation Food Search (OFS) has relied heavily on their generosity to fulfill our mission of healing hunger in the community. Since their first donation to us in 1979, Schnucks has given us more than $160 million worth of food. We have distributed that food through our network of 330 community partners to children and families in 31 counties in the bi-state region. We feed 200,000 people every month, and that simply would not be possible without Schnucks. Their commitment to strengthening their neighbors in need has been game-changing for countless food insecure families. Their excellence as an organization and their dedication to helping others makes them one of our most valued partners by far. Kirsten V. Wild Executive Director, OFS