Walmart Foundation Awards $100,000 Grant to Cleveland Foodbank

( CLEVELAND , OH ) – Continuing its commitment to fighting hunger, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation today presented the Cleveland Foodbank with a $100,000 grant to support the organization’s Childrens Nutrition Initiative (CNI) to help provide nutritious food to at-risk youth. Nick Bertram, Walmart’s Northern Ohio Regional General Manager and Walmart associates from the area presented the check during a ceremony at the Cleveland Foodbank .



“As a company, we operate globally but look for opportunities to give back locally. Solving the problem of hunger in Ohio and across the country will require partnerships between government, nonprofit organizations and the private sector – all acting together,” Bertram said. “The Cleveland Foodbank provides such a critical service making sure the at-risk children in the area are getting nutritious food. Walmart and the Foundation are proud to be a partner with the Foodbank in the fight against hunger in northeast Ohio ”



The CNI is made up of three programs that provide nutritious food to at-risk youth Through “BackPacks for Kids” food is distributed to low-income children at the end of the week to travel home discreetly in backpacks for the weekend when they have access to fewer food resources. “Kids Cafes” provide a daily meal and nutrition education activities to at-risk youth at community partner sites each evening after school. Summer Feeding programs operate like “Kids Cafes,” but take place during the summer months. In FY2010, the Cleveland Foodbank had 78 child feeding sites and the goal is to grow that number to 97 in 2011.



“The need for food assistance has grown dramatically over the last few years,” said Anne Goodman, president and CEO of the Cleveland Foodbank . “Walmart’s donation comes at a ...