Nourishing Neighbors

Origins:

Nourishing Neighbors began in 2004 under the name Hunger Is. This program was designed to eradicate hunger in our neighborhoods starting with ensuring all children have access to breakfast every day.  When we started, 1 in 4 children in America lived in food-insecure households. As a company dedicated to feeding people, we wanted to help .  We did a customer survey and found out that our customers care deeply about this issue and see it as a natural fit for us.  We convened an advisory board comprised of the CEOs of the largest anti-hunger groups in the United States (Feeding America, No Kid Hungry, FRAC, among others) to help guide our work.  In partnership with our generous customers, we raised over $35 million in stores and enabled over 170 million breakfasts. In the last few years, due to our efforts and many others, we have seen the ratio change to 1 in 6 children living in food insecure households.  

The pandemic of 2020 has been a challenge for all, but it particularly impacted people most at-risk of hunger. We responded by changing the name to Nourishing Neighbors and started raising money to support families impacted and facing hunger, some of them for the first time.  Feeding America predicts that among all counties, the projected rate of food insecurity among the overall population for 2020 ranges from a low of 8.6% to a high of 34.2%.

Contribution:

In 2020, the pandemic caused record-high job loss and food insecurity.  Albertsons Companies, through its Foundation’s Nourishing Neighbors project, partnered with over 3,000 organizations across the country to help feed people.  Albertsons Companies donated $53 million which, in concert with over $51 million in customer donations, has helped keep food accessible to local families by:

• Helping school children who are not in school and not receiving lunch and breakfasts they depend on
• Helping families who are facing unemployment
• Helping seniors who are unable to leave their homes

  All funds raised are distributed locally to:

• Food banks to purchase food and gift cards for people in need
• School districts (where appropriate) to deliver meals to kids who rely on them when school is not in session
• Organizations working to get food to seniors

Objectives:

Nourishing Neighbors funds help keep food banks stocked so they can respond to rising demand, support emergency meal distribution programs at schools, and assist senior centers and other programs that supply meals and food to seniors in three phases:

Phase 1 (March – September):  

Objective: Get food to people who need it most

Tactics:  $9 million to summer meals programs and support to organizations with requests evaluated weekly by local teams.

Phase 2 (October-December):

Objective:  Innovate and Activate Communities

Tactics:

• Innovation Fund RFP ($5 Million)
• Marginalized Community RFP to organizations that empower and specifically serve BIPOC ($10 Million)
• Associate Designation Fund – every Associate in our company asked to elect where to designate $20 of the company’s giving funds to an organization of their choice feeding people in their neighborhood ($6 Million)
• Continue to assess and award weekly local grants

Phase 3 (2021):

Objectives and tactics to be determined driven by needs assessment and guidance from our Advisory Committee.

Impact:

Here is our impact by the numbers across the 34 states (and DC) that we serve: 

• People fed: 10 million
• Meals: 192 million
• Organizations Supported: 3,730

Below are a few of our favorite quotes from organizations who are part of our Nourishing Neighbors family:

RSU-18: 

 It is a very emotional time due to the Covid-19 Crisis and all the fears that accompany it. From worrying about our families getting sick, to people losing jobs and to the difficult times taking care of our own families, our staff being able to help with food insecurities is such an amazing feeling. Tears and thanks and all the air hugs from children and families was an experience I will never forget. This is all thanks to Albertsons and Shaw’s.”

Rock of Faith 

“Your funding helped us get a new refrigerator, freezer, and pallet jack that are increasing our capacity and ability to get quality food out! It is having an immediate impact in the community!”

Crossroads Food Bank Portland

“During these difficult times when kids are isolated & no social interaction, it's not only taking a toll socially but mentally & physically. With your grant we were able to provide something for the kids to look forward to each week,... healthy recipes, boxes with ingredients to prepare & utensils. We started with 150 registered & it looks like we will be giving away 500 boxes or more a week here soon. With funding from grants like yours our dreams can come true.”

Quote:

This time of extraordinary need demands an unprecedented response. The basic needs of many of our neighbors have been threatened like never before. With a strong presence in more than 2,200 communities, we are committed to help ensure that people in our neighborhoods have access to the healthy food they need. There has never been a more important time to help our neighbors than right now. Albertsons Companies has always been on the frontline of hunger relief, and our customers always stand with us. We are asking our communities to join us in this effort to ensure that the COVID-19 crisis doesn’t also become a hunger crisis.

President & CEO Vivek Sankaran

Support Statement:

“During a crisis, Feeding America turns to long-standing partners to help our neighbors in need,” said Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, CEO of Feeding America. “As this pandemic continues to hurt our communities, we are proud to work with our partners to provide people facing hunger with the food they need. Albertsons Companies has shown its true commitment to helping families by stepping up support for the Feeding America network of food banks in these unprecedented times.”