With over 4.5 million food insecure people in California and over 350,000 in Nevada, Raley’s Food For Families helped fight hunger this past holiday season. Their Holiday Bag Drive raised more than 3.3 million meals, equating to nearly four million pounds of healthy food.

Taking place from Nov. 4 through Dec. 31, the Raley’s Food For Families Holiday Bag Drive asked customers to donate $10 to “give the gift of good nutrition”. With each bag, Raley’s tripled the food donation – meaning a $10 donation equated to over 20 nutritious meals and a $30 retail value. The bag comprised of 25 pounds of healthy foods, including produce items like carrots, oranges, and potatoes and a variety of non-perishable items, like spaghetti sauce, whole wheat pasta and peanut butter.

2018 was a catalytic year of change for Raley’s Food For Families. To maximize the impact and people served, Food For Families aligned with Feeding America and is now partnered with 12 county-level food banks: Alameda County Community Food Bank, Central California Food Bank, Food Bank of Contra Costa & Solano, Food Bank for Monterey County, Food Bank of Northern Nevada, Placer Food Bank, Redwood Empire Food Bank, Sacramento Food Bank & Family Service, Second Harvest Food Bank of San Joaquin & Stanislaus Counties, Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara & San Mateo, Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Cruz County and Yolo Food Bank.

As experts in food distribution and hunger relief, these 12 food banks play a major role in bringing real food to real families. Through the Holiday Bag Drive, Raley’s Food For Families donated over 3.3 million meals to each of the 12 food bank partners. With the food banks’ networks, over 1,500 local food agencies benefitted from this campaign stretching across Northern California and Western Nevada.

“Our customers continue to help us advance our mission of helping those food insecure; we are grateful for their contributions,” said Becca Whitman, Raley’s Food For Families Executive Director. “We developed the holiday bag to include high quality Raley’s branded products that are healthy, food pantry staples that will support the food banks for the coming months.”

Raley’s Food For Families program runs 365 days of the year to cater to those in need. For more information and to learn how to donate, visit www.foodforfamilies.org.

Raley’s Food For Families is a registered 501(c)3 organization providing food to Feeding America Food Banks and their network of partner agencies. The year-round program serves the communities of Northern California and Western Nevada through Raley’s, Bel Air Market, Nob Hill Foods and Food Source stores.

Raley’s Food For Families began as a holiday food drive in 1986 and was founded by Co-Chairman and Owner Joyce Raley Teel and CEO emeritus Charles Collings. In the past 32 years, the organization has raised over $37 million, representing 40 million pounds of fresh wholesome food. With a long commitment to local communities, Raley’s Food For Families continues to grow and thrive as an organization 100 hundred percent of the administrative costs for the non-profit, meaning all donations go directly to the food bank partners.

Raley’s is a privately-owned and family-operated customer experience grocery company headquartered in West Sacramento, CA. Raley’s operates 129 stores under five banners: Raley’s, Bel Air Markets, Nob Hill Foods, Food Source, and Market 5-ONE-5. Making healthier offerings accessible to everyone, Raley’s has expanded beyond the store to operate grocery curbside pick-up and delivery in their nearby communities. Visit at www.raleys.com.