BJ’s Wholesale Club donates $50K to support Philabundance

BJ’s Wholesale Club is continuing its efforts to aid Feeding American member food banks through its charitable foundation.

The Westborough, Mass.-based retailer recently made a $50,000 donation to Philabundance to help end hunger in the state of Pennsylvania.

“BJ’s is dedicated to nourishing our communities and helping families thrive by improving access to basic essentials, including fresh, nutritious food,” Kirk Saville, executive director of BJ’s charitable foundation, said. “We’re thrilled to donate $50,000 to Philabundance to support its BackPack program. This grant will help increase access and feed more families in food insecure communities.”

Funds from the donation will be used to support the organization’s partnership with Kids Against Hunger Philadelphia, which provides four meal kits and 1 lb. of fresh produce in every backpack for food-insecure children at partner schools and community centers.

Each meal kit contains six prepared servings for a total of 24 servings per backpack, the company said.

“Philabundance serves 90,000 people each week and a staggering 30% are children. After school and over the weekend, these kids may not know where their next meal will come from, or if they will have one at all,” Glenn Bergman, executive director of Philabundance, said. “With BJ’s generous support, we will be able to increase the amount of fresh, healthy food Philabundance can provide to kids and their families, and to other neighbors in need.”