Throughout the 2024 collegiate football season, Food Lion Feeds’ annual Sack to Give Back program huddled with 35 collegiate institutions to help provide the equivalent of 793,000 meals, according to a news release.
For every quarterback sack made by a participating college or university, Food Lion Feeds said it donated the equivalent of 1,000 meals (up to 30,000 meals per school) to help nourish college students and address food insecurity. The effort benefits campus food pantries or affiliated Feeding America partner food banks where each school is located throughout Food Lion’s 10-state operating area.
Food Lion Feeds was founded in 2014 by Food Lion to address food insecurity in the towns and cities it serves.
Since 2019, the Sack to Give Back program has resulted in the equivalent of more than 3.8 million meals donated to local campus food pantries and food banks, the release said. In 2024, the program included collegiate teams across Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.
“At Food Lion, we believe no one should have to choose between dinner and rent or gas and groceries,” said Kevin Durkee, manager for Food Lion Feeds. “We are committed to our collegiate partnerships and honored to partner with them to support their student food pantries, increasing access to nutritious food and setting students up for success.”
The Sack to Give Back campaign is one of many efforts that Food Lion Feeds leads in partnership with colleges. In addition to this collegiate effort, Food Lion Feeds also teams up with universities for its Score to Give More campaign, which is currently underway, providing the equivalent of 100 meals (up to 30,000 meals per school) for every free throw made by participating institutions, the release said.
Through Food Lion Feeds, Food Lion said it has helped to provide more than 1.2 billion meals to individuals and families and has committed to donate 1.5 billion meals by 2025.
