BJ’s Wholesale Club Donates $75,000 to Forgotten Harvest to Help Combat Food Insecurity in Metro Detroit this Summer

Jun 28, 2019 07:17 am
WESTBOROUGH, Mass. & DETROIT -- 

BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE: BJ) announced today that it is donating $75,000 to Forgotten Harvest’s Summer Lunch Program to provide quality meals to at-risk children in metro Detroit. Since December 2018, BJ’s has donated $175,000 to Forgotten Harvest, a Feeding America® member food bank, to support families experiencing food insecurity.

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“BJ’s is dedicated to making a significant and long-lasting impact on the communities we serve,” said Kirk Saville, executive director, BJ’s Charitable Foundation. “We’re proud to partner with Forgotten Harvest to help make sure children throughout the area have access to quality food all summer long.”

Food insecurity is a major issue across metro Detroit and its impact is especially pronounced in the summer when children lose access to school breakfast and lunch programs. The Summer Lunch Program is part of Forgotten Harvest’s Healthy Food, Healthy Kids initiative. Volunteers pack lunches five days a week to help ensure at-risk children are nourished during the summer when school is out. With BJ’s support, the program expects to provide more than 100,000 nutritious lunches and snacks over a 10-week period this summer.

“We are grateful for BJ’s continued support of children and families throughout metro Detroit,” said Kirk Mayes, CEO of Forgotten Harvest. “We have been able to provide essential food supplies to thousands of families through the generous donation they made last December and will be able to do so again with their commitment to the Summer Lunch Program. We are extremely fortunate to have a number of key partners involved in this vital program and appreciate BJ’s stepping up for the most vulnerable in the communities we serve.”

For more information on BJ’s Wholesale Club and membership, visit BJs.com/Michigan or the local BJ’s Wholesale Club Membership Centers located at 29329 John R Road in Madison Heights and at 21838 Eureka Road in Taylor.

BJ’s Wholesale Club is bringing Michigan a fresh take on a wholesale club:

  • 25% off grocery store prices‡: BJ’s beats supermarket prices on national brands every day so members can stock up for less.
  • Coupon-friendly: BJ’s is the only warehouse club that accepts all manufacturers’ coupons, plus members can add coupons to their membership card from the BJ’s app or online.
  • Fresh choices: BJ’s assortment offers more fresh food than other warehouse clubs, with delicious produce, meats, deli and bakery items for weekly shopping.
  • Big gas savings: More ways to save on a fill-up.
  • Everyday ClubVenienceSM: Members can shop however they want with convenient options like BJs.com, buy online, pick up in-club and same-day grocery delivery.
  • Start shopping now: The one-year membership will kick in when the Michigan clubs open, but members who sign up early can start using their membership and shop on BJs.com right away.

BJ’s Wholesale Club will bring 300 jobs to the area and is currently hiring for select positions in both locations. To learn more about career opportunities, visit: BJs.com/careers.

BJ’s is committed to nourishing communities and helping families thrive by providing access to basic essentials including fresh food, education and wellness. Through BJ’s Feeding Communities® program, BJ’s new clubs in Madison Heights and Taylor, Michigan, opening late 2019, will donate unsold produce, meat, poultry, seafood, dairy and bakery products daily to Forgotten Harvest in an effort to reduce food waste and provide wholesome, fresh food to those in need. To date, the BJ’s Feeding Communities program—a company-wide philanthropic initiative to help end hunger—has donated more than 76 million meals to families throughout the club’s communities.

Founded in 1990, Forgotten Harvest, a Feeding America member food bank based in Oak Park, Michigan, delivers 138,000 pounds of surplus food daily to more than 250 local charities six days per week. These local charities then distribute the fresh, nutritious food free of charge to families in need in Macomb, Oakland and Wayne Counties.

To join BJ’s Wholesale Club in supporting Forgotten Harvest’s Summer Lunch Program, visit www.forgottenharvest.org.

‡25% savings is based on Member pricing on a basket of 100 national brand household staples, on an unpromoted unit-price basis, when compared to four leading grocery chains in our trade areas. Learn more at www.bjs.com/25percentterms.

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 217 clubs and 140 BJ's Gas® locations in 16 states.

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

About Forgotten Harvest
Oak Park, Michigan-based Forgotten Harvest was formed in 1990 to fight two problems: hunger and waste. Forgotten Harvest “rescued” over 41.5 million pounds of food last year by collecting surplus prepared and perishable food from over 800 locations, including grocery stores, fruit and vegetable markets, restaurants, caterers, dairies, farmers, wholesale food distributors and other Health Department-approved sources. This donated food, which would otherwise go to waste, is delivered free of charge to over 260 emergency food providers in the metro Detroit area. Learn more about Forgotten Harvest and how to help drive hunger from our community at www.forgottenharvest.org.

Whitney Anderson
[email protected] | 774-512-6053