Building healthy communities requires that neighbors facing hunger have access to nutritious food. Feeding America network members prioritize helping people gain access to foods that respect their cultural food traditions and lifestyles and improve overall health and well-being. When a person doesn’t have access to enough food or can only afford foods with low nutritional value, it can be detrimental to their health. Each year, we work with partners and donors across the country who are committed to our mission and who continuously give back to ensure local communities can effectively provide neighbors experiencing food insecurity with dignified access to the meals they need.
In March 2023, as emergency Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits were expiring—severely impacting more than 30 million people facing hunger in the U.S.—supermarket chain Hy-Vee launched its 100 Million Meals Challenge campaign to support 18 partner food banks in their service area. Customers across all Hy-Vee, Dollar Fresh Market and Hy-Vee Fast & Fresh locations could round up their purchases to the nearest dollar during checkout to benefit the campaign. All funds collected at the stores went directly to partner food banks serving their local community and were unrestricted, meaning that food banks had the power and flexibility to best address hunger in their local communities. Customers also could make a campaign donation online. Hy-Vee guaranteed a minimum donation of $250,000. As of October 2023, the challenge is at its halfway mark, and the campaign will continue until the goal is met.
The awareness, funds and product donations generated by Hy-Vee’s campaign have been impactful. In October 2023, Food Bank for the Heartland (Omaha, NE)—one of the benefiting partner food banks serving neighbors facing hunger across Hy-Vee's eight-state region—received nearly $300,000 as part of the challenge. “This generous donation will provide nearly 900,000 meals to neighbors making unthinkable decisions every day,” the food bank shared on its website.
The challenge launched in conjunction with the 2023 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season, and Hy-Vee amplified promotion with special activities during the Hy-Vee INDYCAR Race Weekend in July 2023 at Iowa Speedway in Newton, Iowa. In addition to engaging their customers, employees, vendors and larger community to spread the word about the campaign, Hy-Vee worked closely with the benefiting food banks on several events leading up to the weekend including two well-known INDYCAR drivers delivering food donations to Food Bank of Iowa. The success of this campaign is an example of how our collective efforts are contributing to the nationwide movement to end hunger by 2030.
As a Feeding America partner since 2006, Hy-Vee has continued to support the Feeding America network through several initiatives over the years. In 2022, their Food Bank Fridays register-round-up cause campaign which raised nearly $1 million from late November through December 2022—food donations and disaster relief efforts.
