Our Community
February 8th, 2012
As part of its promise last year to improve the nutritional quality of the food it sells, Walmart said on Tuesday that it had devised standards to determine what is healthy and would label the foods that meet those standards. The new label, bright green with the words Great for You, will first appear on the retailer’s own Great Value and Marketside food items this spring, as well as on signs around fresh fruits and vegetable displays. But Walmart executives said the company planned to allow other brands to use the label without paying any licensing fee on products that meet the criteria. ”This is not meant to lecture our customers,” Leslie A. Dach, Walmart’s executive vice president for corporate affairs, said in a telephone interview. ”They can buy a dessert when they want to. But when they want to buy a cracker, we can help them steer them to a healthier cracker if that’s what they’re looking for.”
Read more at the New York Times
February 7th, 2012
Wal-Mart is unveiling a simple icon that it says will help consumers make a snap decision about whether a food is healthy, without delving into the nitty-gritty of the nutrition label. The move by the nation’s biggest retailer to label some food products as “Great For You,” being unveiled Tuesday, could be a significant development in the fight against obesity because of the company’s enormous influence in the marketplace, over both consumers and food vendors eager to sell into the Wal-Mart supply chain. There have been fumbles in the past. In 2009, major food makers backed off a plan to label foods as “smart choices” after the Food and Drug Administration, which has been working on a standard system for such logos, noted that many competing nutrition symbols could be confusing. At the time, some food makers were criticized for trying to market items such as mayonnaise and sugary cereals as “smart choices.”
Read more at MSNBC.com: The Bottom Line
December 23rd, 2011
Feeding South Dakota has received a $5,000 grant from Walmart as part of its “12 Days of Giving” holiday campaign. The first day of the campaign Monday was dedicated to nonprofits that fight hunger. Based on Facebook nominations, 25 organizations across the country were selected to split $130,000 from Walmart. Feeding South Dakota is a hunger relief organization that provides food for pantries across the state, serving an estimated 3,800 people in South Dakota every day.
Read more at the Argus Leader
December 23rd, 2011
As part of Wal-Mart’s 12 days of giving program, several $10,000 grants were given out to different organizations. On Day 7, the focus was on organizations that provide affordable housing, safe shelters and other necessities for the homeless. Sioux City’s Crittenton Center got one of those grants, and officials say it’ll go a long way in 2012. “Emergency Shelter is run by different donations and so, we’re always very grateful and appreciative of anything that can help the shelter function,” said Jennifer Hanks, Crittenton Center.
Read more at KITV
December 21st, 2011
A Fort Wayne non-profit group that offers Individual, relationship and family counseling and transitional housing for women has been awarded a $10,000 grant on Wal-Mart’s ninth day of its “12 Days of Giving” Facebook campaign.
Read more at the Journal Gazette
December 13th, 2011
Company Funds Organizations in Alabama, Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Washington and West Virginia
BENTONVILLE, Ark., Dec. 13, 2011 – On the second day of its “12 Days of Giving” Facebook campaign, Walmart is awarding $125,000 to 17 nonprofits that are building a brighter future for children across the country. Over twelve consecutive days, the company will award a total of $1.5 million to 145 organizations in all 50 states, Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico.
Organizations being honored on the company’s Facebook page today are serving communities in: Alabama, Alaska, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, New York, Pennsylvania South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Washington and West Virginia.
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December 12th, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
On the “First Day of Giving” Retailer Gives $130k to Organizations Stepping Up to Fight Hunger
BENTONVILLE, Ark., Dec. 12, 2011 – ‘Tis the season for spreading holiday cheer and Walmart is doing just that. Today, the company kicks off its “12 Days of Giving” campaign, awarding over $1.5 million to nonprofits that were nominated by Facebook users. By the end of the campaign, 145 grant recipients in all 50 states, Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico will be honored. Twenty-five nonprofits that have stepped up to fight hunger are receiving a total of $130,000 on the first day of giving.
Walmart’s 12-day call for submissions resulted in more than 5,400 nominations from Facebook users who shared photos and short descriptions of a nonprofit’s impact in its local community. A panel from the Walmart Foundation reviewed submissions and selected winners with a focus on organizations that are providing basic needs such as food, shelter, clothing and baby supplies. | read more
December 8th, 2011
A group of senior citizens geared up for a game of bingo and a chili lunch Friday at the Lightle Center. The Lightle Center in Searcy is where the White County Aging Program Inc. has all of its programs, such as Meals on Wheels, Adopt-A-Senior, daily lunches and other activities. Friday, the program received a Hunger Relief Grant of $29,000 from the Walmart Foundation. The grant will help offset the funding cut. The grant is part of the Walmart Foundation’s national campaign to fight hunger. Not only does Walmart offer grants; the employees also offer their time. “Every Monday and Tuesday, a member of management will donate their lunch time to run a route [for Meals on Wheels],” said Eddie Ellenberg, general manager of Sam’s Club Distribution Center in Searcy.
Read more at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
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November 3rd, 2011
A new Walmart supermarket and discount store could open by spring of 2013 in South Milwaukee after the project won a final round of approvals before the Common Council this week, a city official says. The Walmart will be developed on 10 acres west of Chicago Ave., and one block south of College Ave., once an environmental cleanup is completed, city engineer Kyle Vandercar said. That work, including demolition of a former tannery building, is to begin soon after the development site is sold, Vandercar said. The sale is expected to be completed this month.
Read more at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
November 3rd, 2011
Support for the Children’s Miracle Network has been a consistent part of Walmart’s community outreach, especially in Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia. Nineteen stores, including Walmart, Sam’s Club and the company’s distribution center in Midway, raised $225,000 during their campaign from May 1 to June 19 and collected an extra $53,000 since that date. These stores are ranked first in the nation within the Walmart family in the amount they raised per person in a region that has 741,000 people. The local stores were also third in the country in the number of dollars raised. Jon Tunnell, market manager for Walmart, was pleased with the showing by local stores. “Walmart has been a longstanding supporter of Children’s Miracle Network because we see the value in helping children in need,” Tunnel said. “We are also impressed with the way the money that has been raised in this region has been used at Wellmont Health System hospitals for improvement in children’s health. Children’s Miracle Network is a wonderful initiative to help our friends and neighbors in this region.”
Read more at the Kingsport Times
