When Meijer opened its second supercenter in Detroit earlier this summer on the city’s northwest side, it became the 33rd Meijer store to partner with Forgotten Harvest on food rescue efforts. Formed in 1990, the food bank is dedicated to relieving hunger in Metro Detroit and rescued 41 million pounds of food last year from 800 sources, including restaurants, farmers and grocery stores.
Last year alone, Meijer helped Forgotten Harvest provide more than 1.4 million meals to feed the hungry. Upon its new Detroit store opening, Meijer donated $10,000 to the food bank to help support its food rescue program.
In 2008, Meijer began its food rescue program with food banks picking up fresh food that would otherwise go to waste from 29 Meijer stores in southeast Michigan. It has since grown corporate-wide with all 222 stores now able to support a rescue food bank.
Meijer donated 7.4 million pounds of food – or 6.1 million meals – in 2014 to local food banks. The U.S. Department of Agriculture defines a meal as 1.2 pounds of food.
To learn more about Forgotten Harvest, please click here.