UNITED NATURAL FOODS ANNOUNCES
PARTNERSHIP WITH FEEDING AMERICA TO FIGHT HUNGER
November 2, 2010: Providence, Rhode Island – United Natural Foods, Inc. (Nasdaq: UNFI) (the “Company”), the leading distributor of natural, organic and specialty foods and non-food products in the United States and Canada, is pleased to announce a new partnership with Feeding America, the leading domestic hunger-relief charity in the United States. UNFI’s commitment to the nationwide organization will focus on combating hunger in the communities the Company serves including through local food banks, soup kitchens, and shelters. Through each of the Company’s U.S. distribution centers, UNFI will strive to reach families in need through its food donation program, as well as school children by sponsoring Feeding America’s national BackPack Program.
Feeding America is a leading philanthropic charity that supplies needed food to more than 37 million Americans each year, including 14 million children and 3 million seniors. Their goal is to eliminate starvation in America, and they have many different programs which target different age groups and areas of the country.
Tom Dziki, UNFI’s Chief Human Resources and Sustainability Officer, commented, “We continue to support national and local organizations focused on improving lives in each community we serve. Feeding America is a terrific values-orientated organization that complements our tradition of charitable giving and we are proud to enter into a strategic partnership with them.”
“We are thrilled that UNFI has partnered with Feeding America to help us with the tremendous task of providing food and groceries each and every week to more than 5.7 million Americans who are now living on the brink of hunger,” said Ross Fraser, spokesperson for Feeding America. “We could not meet the challenge of helping so many people without the assistance of companies like UNFI.”
Feeding America’s BackPack program provides nutritious, kid-friendly food for children to take home on weekends and school vacations when school meals are not available. The long term effect of childhood hunger is adults who are not prepared physically, mentally, emotionally or socially to productively join the workforce. The Backpack Program targets elementary school children, who have the greatest need for nutrients in their formative years. Launched nationally in 2006, the program has rapidly expanded in the past four years and currently provides backpacks filled with child-friendly food to more than 200,000 each year.