The Raley’s Companies announced that two of its banners, Bashas’, which has stores in Arizona and New Mexico, and Raley’s, with stores in California and Nevada, were selected by FirstFruits to participate in this year’s Take a Bite Out of Hunger initiative. FirstFruits is a fruit grower with a focus on social responsibility.
The banners have a long history of participating in the give-back campaign: Bashas’ has participated annually since 2018, and Raley’s has been involved since the program’s inception in 2010. This week, they have donated nearly 40,000 pounds of apples to local food banks that serve families in need in metro Phoenix and Northern California across Placer, El Dorado, and Nevada counties.
Raley’s and Bashas’ earned the donations for their communities based on the number of apples they sold in stores in January and February. Shoppers purchased 24 percent more apples during these months as compared to last year, so this year’s donation will be 24 percent greater.
“Supporting local food banks is a natural way for us to ensure that families in need in the communities we serve have access to fresh, nutritious foods,” said Chelsea Minor, executive director of community impact and public affairs for The Raley’s Companies, in a statement. “Teaming up with organizations like FirstFruits allows us to extend our giving even further.”
Now that pandemic-related SNAP benefits have ended, more people are turning to their local food banks to help make ends meet, according to Raley’s.
“Receiving this incredibly generous donation from FirstFruits and Raley’s makes a profound difference for the neighbors that we reach with food assistance,” said Lisa Heinrich, director of development and communications for Placer Food Bank, in a statement. “With more than 102,000 individuals living with food insecurity, including 22,880 children, receiving additional, life-sustaining nutritious fresh fruits is vital in helping us fight hunger.”
Since Take a Bite Out of Hunger’s inception in 2010, more than 2.8 million pounds of fresh apples have been donated in participating retailers’ names to local food banks in their communities.
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