Meijer raises $1.2 million through Simply Give campaign

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Meijer customers donated more than $510,000 during the holiday Simply Give campaign, helping food pantries throughout the Midwest restock their shelves. That commitment to supporting hungry families, combined with a donation from Meijer, raised the holiday campaign total to more than $1.2 million, making it the most successful campaign since Simply Give began in November 2008, the grocer reported.

“We cannot thank our customers, team members and pantry partners enough for continuing to rise to the challenge and help us feed hungry families in the communities we serve,” stated Doug Meijer, co-chairman Meijer. “It’s truly inspiring to see this level of engagement, especially as we celebrated Simply Give’s five-year milestone this holiday season.”

The Grand Rapids, Mich.-based retailer began its Simply Give program as a way to help local food pantries throughout the Midwest achieve their missions of feeding hungry families.

Thanks to the holiday campaign that ended earlier this month, the Simply Give program has generated nearly $8 million for those partners to distribute to hungry families. And, more importantly, those meals stay local, noted Janet Emerson, EVP retail operations for Meijer.

“We know how important it is to our customers that their generous donations remain in their local communities,” Emerson said. “That’s why each of our stores partner with a local food pantry during the Simply Give campaigns.”

During the Simply Give program, which runs three times a year, customers are encouraged to purchase $10 Meijer Food Pantry Donation Cards that are then converted into Meijer food-only gift cards and given to the food pantry selected by the store.