WESTBOROUGH, Mass., July 19, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- BJ's Wholesale Club (NYSE: BJ) today announced a $50,000 donation from the BJ's Charitable Foundation to Feeding America Southwest Virginia, a Feeding America^® member food bank. BJ's donation will provide fresh, nutritious food to children across the region through Feeding America Southwest Virginia's Hunger-Free Summer Feeding Programs.

"BJ's is committed to nourishing our communities and helping families thrive, and we're excited to support Feeding America Southwest Virginia's Hunger-Free Summer Kids Café and Summer Feeding Program," said Kirk Saville, executive director, BJ's Charitable Foundation. "Hunger-relief programs are crucial for children and families who lose access to school lunches in the summer. Through our partnership with Feeding America, we're helping to provide access to fresh, healthy food to families when school is out for the summer." 

With BJ's $50,000 grant, Feeding America Southwest Virginia will increase the number of fresh nutritious meals distributed to children through its Summer Feeding programs and its Café to Grow food truck for children.

"One in six children is at risk of hunger in Southwest Virginia," said Pamela Irvine, president and CEO, Feeding America Southwest Virginia. "During the summer, child hunger spikes in our community when students don't have access to school lunches. With BJ's generous support, we will be able to increase the number of healthy meals and snacks we distribute this summer."           

In addition to the grant, BJ's team members volunteered with the food bank's Café to Grow food truck for children and distributed healthy snacks to children at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Southwest Virginia and the Tinker Creek Manor Apartments. The Café to Grow food truck for children provides fresh, nutritious meals to children after-school during the school year and throughout the summer to help put an end to hunger in the region.  

During the school year, more than 22 million children receive free or reduced-price meals through the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs. In the summer months, fewer than 4 million children receive free or reduced-priced meals through the USDA Summer Food Service Program. From mobile and school pantries to congregate meal sites in public areas like summer camps, the Feeding America network operates different program models to increase the number of meals provided to children over the summer.

Since 2009, BJ's has provided ongoing support to Feeding America through the BJ's Charitable Foundation and BJ's Feeding Communities® program, helping local food banks successfully expand their programs to reach wider and more diverse audiences.

In addition to summer programming and capacity-building grants from the BJ's Charitable Foundation, BJ's has secured over 70 million pounds of donated food, including fresh produce, frozen meats and fish, baked goods and dairy items, and helped distribute 58 million meals to neighbors in need through the BJ's Feeding Communities® program.

To learn more about the BJ's, visit BJs.com.

About BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc.

Headquartered in Westborough, Massachusetts, BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. is a leading operator of membership warehouse clubs on the East Coast of the United States. The company currently operates 215 clubs and 134 BJ's Gas® locations in 16 states. 

BJ's provides a one-stop shopping destination filled with top-quality, leading brands, including its exclusive Wellsley Farms^® and Berkley Jensen^® brands, along with USDA Choice meats, premium produce and delicious organics, many in supermarket sizes. BJ's is also the only major membership warehouse club to accept all manufacturers' coupons.

The Company's common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: BJ).

About Feeding America Southwest Virginia
Feeding America Southwest Virginia was founded locally in 1981 and proudly commemorates 37 years of fighting hunger and changing lives through community partnerships. For the last three and a half decades, the Food Bank's ultimate mission has remained the same: eliminate hunger in the region. The primary function of the Food Bank is to secure and distribute large quantities of food for Southwest Virginia's hungry. Approximately $26.5 million worth of food and grocery related products are channeled annually through a network of more than 330 partner feeding programs in our 26-county, 9-city region that provide food or meals to those in need. The local Food Bank is an affiliate member of Feeding America. Visit www.faswva.org for more information or like us on Facebook.

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SOURCE BJ's Wholesale Club