Giant/Landover Reflects On 75th Anniversary Year Highlighted By Community Service

Giant/Landover celebrated its 75th anniversary year in 2011 with a strong commitment to alleviating hunger, supporting education programs and health and wellness initiatives as well as creating new partnerships to support the community. Over the course of 2011, Giant donated hundreds of thousands of pounds of food, the equivalent of more than 21.4 million meals, as well as more than $8 million to community organizations throughout the region to help tens of thousands of individuals and families. In October, the Landover, MD based division of Ahold USA welcomed a new president, Anthony Hucker.

In February, local officials, long-time community partners, members of Giant’s founding families, and Giant team members and customers gathered to celebrate the 75th anniversary at the Tivoli Giant in Washington, DC, just blocks from the site of the first store location. The Giant at the corner of Park Road and Georgia Avenue, NW was the first supermarket in the nation’s capital.

“I was honored to join Giant during its 75th anniversary year,” said Hucker. “I’m proud to be a part of Giant, an organization that has established itself as a strong community leader throughout Maryland, Virginia, Washington, DC, and Delaware during the last 75 years. I am so pleased to be here at the start of Giant’s next 75 years. Our commitment to providing customers with the highest level of quality, value, and service remains strong as we continue our role as an active member of the communities we are so privileged to serve.”

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Giant remained committed to helping alleviate hunger across the Mid-Atlantic region throughout the year. In January and October, Giant associates and customers contributed 83,000 pounds of food for the Manna Food Center. Throughout September, Hunger Action Month, Giant hosted three Stuff-A-Truck events as well as a Stuff-A-Boat event to support area food banks. Giant made two very special deliveries to five Feeding America food banks this year. In the spring, the grocer donated a total of 750 hams and the week before Thanksgiving, Giant contributed more than 750 turkeys to each food bank partner.

Customers and associates participated in Giant’s 24th annual Good Neighbor Food and Funds Drive which resulted in more than $175,000 for five Feeding America food banks. Check presentations will be held later this month, and regional food banks will receive the following funding: Capital Area Food Bank, $103,486; Maryland Food Bank, $50,855; Blue Ridge Area Food Bank, $10,524; and the Fredericksburg Area Food Bank and the Food Bank of Delaware, $5,262 each. Toward year’s end, in partnership with WTTG Fox 5 and four CBS radio stations, Giant hosted the 10th annual Stuff-A-Truck, which collected $127,805 and 62,800 pounds of food to benefit the Capital Area Food Bank.

“Giant Food is one of our most valued partners,” said Deborah Flateman, CEO of the Maryland Food Bank. “So much so, that at our annual meeting in September, we honored Giant as Retailer of the Year. Last year alone, Giant donated more than 1.4 million pounds of food to the Maryland Food Bank – the equivalent of more than 1 million meals for children and families in need across Maryland. Beyond donating salvage, Giant has sponsored events, hosted in-store point-of-sale campaigns, and partnered with the Baltimore Ravens and other organizations to promote food and funds drives benefitting the Maryland Food Bank. Giant is truly a model of social responsibility and we are extremely grateful for their continued support in the fight to end hunger in Maryland.”

In addition to hunger relief, Giant teamed up with health and wellness groups, military support organizations, and various nonprofit organizations, as well as supporting education programs, to help individuals and families in the communities it serves. 2011 highlights include the following:

Kicking off its 75th anniversary year, Giant teamed up with the YMCA of Metropolitan Washington to tackle critical health and wellness issues affecting the region and provide a lasting impact on the health and wellness of the region’s youth. In addition, Giant and the Y are working together to develop a healthy snack program, promote healthy eating, and encourage an active lifestyle.

In March, Giant embarked on a new partnership with the USO of Metropolitan Washington to support military families. Giant hosted an in-store giving campaign and collected monetary donations as well as non-perishable food items. During the three week campaign, Giant customers and associates raised $108,000 and nearly 10,000 pounds of food to help create a new food pantry at Fort Belvoir in Virginia and support USO-Metro programs.

The seventh annual Triple Winner game hit Giant stores in April. Triple Winner is one of the most successful cause-marketing programs in the nation and each year, Giant associates and customers join together to fight pediatric cancer. In 2011, Giant raised $1.5 million for Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center and the Children’s Cancer Foundation, Inc.

In the spring, each neighborhood Giant sponsored youth Little League teams for boys and girls in Maryland, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Delaware. Store managers provided healthy snacks, hosted in-store parties, and more in support of nearly 300 teams across the region.

Giant presented nearly $2 million to local schools in Maryland, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Delaware as a result of its 2010-2011 A+ School Rewards program.

During National Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October, Giant launched an initiative providing customers with a host of ways to support breast-cancer-related organizations in their local community. Customers and associates purchased pink reusable bags and filled their cart for a cure, raising funds for the Capital Breast Care Center.

Over the course of the year, Giant and The Salvation Army strengthened their relationship. In honor of its 75th anniversary, Giant donated $75,000 to The Salvation Army to help support their programs in February. Giant customers and associates helped raise nearly $30,000 during a summer “Need Knows No Season” giving campaign, exclusively at Washington, D.C. and Baltimore-area Giant locations. In addition, Giant welcomed red kettles at all 173 stores during The Salvation Army’s 2011 Red Kettle Campaign.

In December, Giant launched a new partnership with the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation, hosting toy collection bins at all neighborhood stores. In addition, Giant donated $50,000 to the Foundation to enable the purchase of additional toys for children in the community.