The COVID-19 pandemic is placing a lot of strain on food banks this year as people are increasingly in need of food and other supplies. But Safeway, a grocery chain with stores across Maryland, D.C. and Virginia, announced plans to provide relief to multiple Food Banks and other area non-profits this holiday season.
As part of the store’s 2020 Holiday Bucks Campaign, Safeway is delivering 13,500 large turkeys to six different Washington, D.C.-Baltimore area nonprofits. The organizations receiving turkeys include:
- Capital Area Food Bank
- Catholic Charities of Washington
- Central Union Mission
- D.C. Central Kitchen
- Maryland Food Bank
- Salvation Army
Safeway says these turkeys, valued at $350,000, are anywhere between 16 and 24 pounds each. On average, a 16 pound turkey can feed about 12 people, while a 24 pound turkey could feed nearly 20 people, according to Better Homes & Gardens. The turkeys will be delivered by seven tractor trailer trucks over the next week.
Stores across the area, including in Montgomery County, are participating in the campaign, Safeway says. Shoppers can donate money during the campaign at checkstands. The money raised is then used to provide food to hunger relief programs and feed local families in need.
So far in 2020, the Safeway Foundation, which runs the campaign at stores across the country, “has donated more than $3.8 million in grants to support local hunger relief and other causes.”
