Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 7, 2024
[Charlottesville, Va] – “Shop to Stop Hunger” Rallies Community Support for Blue Ridge Area Food Bank, Providing More Than 47,000 Meals
Local Leaders Race Against the Clock to Help End Hunger
[Charlottesville, Va] — On Thursday, November 7, local community leaders, celebrities, and Kroger representatives came together at the “Shop to Stop Hunger” charity supermarket sweep to benefit the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank. Hosted at Rio Hill Kroger in Charlottesville, contributions from the event raised a total of $15,513 and 558 pounds of food and funds, totaling 47,004 meals, helping to fill the Food Bank’s shelves and raise awareness of food insecurity across the Blue Ridge region.
During the high-energy 60-second sweep, participants raced down the aisles, filling their carts in a bid to claim the most valuable haul. Kate Mora emerged as the Grand Champion, winning the coveted “Cart Away Hunger” trophy for the most total donations raised. This included a cart valued at $608.23 and impressive community support, with food and online donations totaling $1,500. UVA Community Credit Union contributed an additional $5,000 in their name.
The event brought together notable participants, including Harrison Didawick (UVA Baseball), Pam Garrison (Monticello Media), Kate Mora (President, Kroger Mid-Atlantic), Michael Thomas (Charlottesville Fire Chief), and Juandiego Wade (Mayor of Charlottesville). Other attendees included representatives from the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank, Kroger, Home Instead Senior Care, and Carolyn Burnett from UVA Community Credit Union, who also serves on the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank board.
“Today’s event demonstrates how our community’s compassion and teamwork can create lasting change as we work to solve hunger, every day,” said Michael McKee, CEO of the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank. “The food and donations made today will provide meals and hope to individuals and families living with food insecurity across our region. We’re deeply grateful to Kroger, Home Instead Senior Care, UVA Community Credit Union, and everyone who came together to make this event successful.”
Impact: Since its start in 2013 by former Food Bank board member Jeanne McCusker, “Shop to Stop Hunger” has raised enough food and funds to provide more than 789,744 meals for residents in need across the Blue Ridge region. This year’s event alone generated enough to provide 47,004 meals. Funds and food are still being collected and added to the totals for this event.
Support opportunities: Community members can continue to support the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank’s hunger-relief efforts by donating online at https://give.brafb.org/STSHCVILLE24. Every dollar donated helps provide more than three meals.
For more information, please contact:
Les Sinclair, Communications & PR Manager, Blue Ridge Area Food Bank
434-962-5403
lsinclair@brafb.org
Media materials: https://1drv.ms/f/c/F9D40D178713ECAF/En5JuB8I-hVHpQiZIMC2-vEBpmKhhY54PGGF1xBksxkArQ?e=DEI3Rq
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About the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank
The Blue Ridge Area Food Bank is the largest hunger-relief organization serving Western and Central Virginia. Founded in 1981, the Food Bank serves 25 counties and 8 cities through distribution centers in Charlottesville, Lynchburg, Winchester, and its headquarters in Verona. Each month, the Food Bank supports an average of 148,200 guest visits, reaching record numbers of Virginians through a network of nearly 400 community partners—food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, and program sites. As a partner food bank of Feeding America®, the nation’s largest hunger-relief organization, the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank pledges to continue innovating and adapting to secure, store, and distribute more food to more individuals, families, children, and seniors experiencing hunger. For more information, visit www.brafb.org.
About Home Instead Senior Care
The locally owned and operated Home Instead Senior Care office is celebrating 21 years in business, providing in-home care services to help people at all stages in the aging process. They work with seniors and their families to develop a personalized care plan tailored to help fit all types of needs. They are dedicated to helping people live well wherever they call home for years to come.
About UVA Community Credit Union
UVA Community Credit Union is an award winning not-for-profit, member-owned cooperative that provides a wide range of convenient and professionally managed personal and business financial services to its more than 76,000 members. Membership is open to individuals who live, work, or attend school in, and to any business located in, Virginia’s Central Piedmont and Valley area.
About Kroger’s Mid-Atlantic Division:
The Mid-Atlantic Division operates more than 100 stores in Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Ohio. Based in Richmond, Virginia, the Mid-Atlantic Division employs about 18,000 associates. Kroger is dedicated to eliminating hunger in the communities it serves through partnerships with nine Feeding America food banks and numerous local organizations. The grocer’s Zero Hunger | Zero Waste efforts are aimed at ending hunger in Kroger communities and eliminating waste in stores by 2025. Kroger also supports breast cancer research, the military, and their families and more than 4,000 nonprofit organizations. Last year, Kroger Mid-Atlantic donated 16.5 million meals to charity and 3,606,296 pounds of food to food bank partners.
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