Walmart Grants $15 Million to Feeding America: Investment Expected to Help Network Rescue 500 Million Pounds of Food Over 18 Months
Walmart has granted $15 million to Feeding America, the nationwide hunger-relief network, to strengthen how food is rescued, moved and delivered through the charitable food system; announcing the grant on September 30 at its headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas, the company said Feeding America expects the investment to help its network rescue 500 million pounds of food over the next 18 months. Feeding America estimates that nearly 48 million people across the country are experiencing food insecurity.
A significant portion of the funding will go directly to food banks and local agencies to expand retail food rescue infrastructure and help them collect, store and distribute more nutritious food. The grant will also support technology and tools to help manage and move food more efficiently across the Feeding America network. Walmart stores and Sam's Clubs are already a major source of food for the network, donating 769 million pounds of food in the United States in fiscal 2026 alone, but moving that food from stores to families requires food banks to have the people, equipment, storage, transportation and technology to handle it safely.
"Food banks and local agencies are pillars in their communities, and we know many are being asked to do more," said Julie Gehrki, senior vice president of philanthropy at Walmart. "This investment is about helping give them more of the resources and tools they need to get food where it can do the most good." Denis McDonough, CEO of Feeding America, said: "At a time when neighbors are facing higher costs for food and other essentials, communities need every part of the food system working together. This investment will strengthen the people, infrastructure and technology needed to move more of that food where it is needed the most, while helping families access critical nutrition support like SNAP."
The grant is the latest chapter in more than two decades of work between Walmart and Feeding America. Through its Fight Hunger. Spark Change. campaign, Walmart has also brought customers and suppliers into the effort: this year the campaign generated more than $18 million, the equivalent of more than 180 million meals, and since it began in 2014 it has helped secure more than 2.4 billion meals. Feeding America's network includes more than 250 food banks, more than 20 statewide food bank associations, more than 10 regional co-ops and more than 60,000 agency partners, food pantries and meal programs across the country.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：宾夕法尼亚州中部食物银行仓库内成托盘堆放的待分发食物物资（资料图，美国农业部 USDA 食品与营养服务局2024年摄，公共领域）。Photo: Pallets of food awaiting distribution inside the Central Pennsylvania Food Bank warehouse (file photo, U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service, 2024; public domain).
