Five Loaves, Wal-Mart partner to help feed region’s hungry

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Five Loaves Food Shelf volunteers arrive weekly at Wal-Mart in New Richmond to pick up a load of produce, baked goods and more. Joe Greatens (left) and Jim Smith load up their pick-ups with the food donations on July 13.

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For the past two years, Wal-Mart in New Richmond has been doing its part to put food on the tables of low-income families.

Each week, the local discount and grocery store has donated its excess produce, baked goods and other items to Five Loaves.

As an example, the most recent shipment of donated food included potatoes, strawberries, green peppers, onions, lettuce, apples, sweet corn, baked goods and blueberries. The donated items are picked up on Wednesdays and dropped off at the food shelf for distribution to clients.

“It’s been a wonderful thing,” said Sandy Schleicher, store manager at Wal-Mart. “It’s been tremendous for the community, and it’s been good for us too. Now all of that food isn’t going into the trash.”

Wal-Mart employees feel good that they can help families in need during these tough economic times, Schleicher said.

“We’ve gotten a lot of notes of appreciation from people who have benefitted from the donations,” she said.

For Five Loaves Food Shelf, the partnership is a godsend.

“It’s made a tremendous difference in the amount and variety of produce available for people,” said Sarah Johnson, board chairperson for Five Loaves Food Shelf.

The donations have been particularly important in the wintertime, Johnson said, when donations of vegetables and fruit from people’s gardens aren’t coming in.

“Before, in the winter, we didn’t have a lot of produce,” she said.

Since July of 2009, the local Wal-Mart has donated thousands of pounds of food to Five Loaves.

In fiscal year 2009-10, about 150,000 pounds was picked up by Five Loaves volunteers, Johnson reported. About 100,000 pounds of that were fruits and vegetables. A big chunk of the remaining donations have been various baked goods. About 10 percent of the Wal-Mart donations fall under the categories of meat, dairy and dry goods.

So far in fiscal year 2010-11, 127,000 pounds of food has been donated, of which 89,500 was fresh produce and 22,768 pounds was bakery items.

“It’s just a win-win situation for both of us,” Johnson said. “Instead of the food going into the dumpster, it goes to feed people.”

For years, Wal-Mart employees were frustrated by having to throw excess fruits, vegetables and baked goods away, Johnson said.

“It’s going to good use now,” Johnson said. “It’s an incredible amount of food. It takes extra time and energy for Wal-Mart employees and staff to sort through the food and donate it. But they’ve been willing to do it and it really helps.”

It took about 10 years for Feeding America, the nation’s leading hunger-relief charity, to strike a partnership with Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club that allowed for the donation of such food, Johnson explained.

Since that partnership started in late 2008, millions of pounds of food have gone to food shelves across the U.S. In 2010 alone, Wal-Mart reported that 127 million pounds of food was given by their stores through the Feeding America program.

Feeding America and its network of donors from the food and beverage industries supply food to more than 37 million Americans each year, including 14 million children and 3 million senior citizens.

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