NEW YORK – As a record number of Americans turn to food stamps and donations to feed their families, Walmart will be directing its U.S. holiday giving to providing food for the hungry, Reuters reports.
The mega-retailer has increased its U.S. holiday giving by 28 percent this year, earmarking part of its $32 million budget to hunger relief.
"We're the largest grocer in the country, so I think we feel a real responsibility to respond to hunger," said Margaret McKenna, president of the Walmart Foundation. "There's been over a 100 percent increase in the number of people going to a food bank for the first time in their life.”
Walmart and the Walmart Foundation have teamed up with Feeding America and will donate 35 truckloads of food to food banks. It is also donating $2.2 million to the Meals on Wheels Association of America.
According to the latest U.S. government data, the number of Americans on food stamps reached 35.85 million in July, the highest on record and the seventh month in a row of record-setting participation.
In its last fiscal year, Walmart donated more than $378 million in cash and in-kind gifts in the United States.