Looking Back: On September 30, 2015 local Food Lion associates helped stock a new freezer at Midland Baptist Church's food pantry, Journey of Hope, as part of the Company's "The Great Pantry Makeover." Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee nominated its Partner Agency, Journey of Hope, to receive the much-needed food and funds.

The event celebrated the end of September's Hunger Action Month, a nationwide awareness campaign designed to mobilize the public to take action on the issue of hunger. Throughout Hunger Action Month, Food Lion remodeled and stocked more than 30 food pantries across its markets.

"On behalf of Food Lion, we are truly humbled to be at Midland Baptist Church. It is amazing work Journey of Hope does every day," said Jeremy Motley, Manager at Food Lion. "Food Lion has provided about 1,200 hours of volunteer work at different locations around the Southeast and provided more than 1 million meals this month. We are excited to end our Hunger Action Month efforts at Journey of Hope by celebrating our partnership with Second Harvest."

In addition to the $3,500 donation towards the purchase of the new freezer, Food Lion donated 1,678 pounds of frozen meats (meatballs, chicken wings, chicken tenders, chicken breasts) - all protein-rich food that is one of the most requested items by people at-risk of hunger. Ten local Food Lion associates helped stock the new freezer with the donated product that will provide 1,400 meals.

Food Lion has been a long-standing partner of Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee. This past year, Food Lion committed serve 500 million meals by 2020. "Second Harvest could not do what we do, and Journey of Hope could not do what they do without Food Lion. It is going to take the food pantries, the food banks and the partnership between all of us to make that happen," said Ross Loveall, Food Resource Specialist at Second Harvest. "Ultimately the goal is to see that little child smile because they had a meal that day, it might only be one meal, but it's a meal they might not have had - that's because of the people at Food Lion and the people at Journey of Hope."

Midland Baptist Church's food pantry, Journey of Hope, provides emergency food, clothes, shoes and other miscellaneous items to help people in the community struggling with poverty. This past year, Journey of Hope fed 10,000 families through Second Harvest's Mobile Pantry distributions. Mobile Pantries are the most effective way to distribute groceries in rural communities because it typically provides one to two weeks of groceries to approximately 250 households.

"Second Harvest is our biggest contributor at Journey of Hope and without them we would have been over a million pounds short of food last year," said Doug Mitchell, Pastor at Midland Baptist Church. "Without Second Harvest, there would be a lot more hungry people - so thank you!"

ABOUT SECOND HARVEST FOOD BANK OF MIDDLE TENNESSEE

Organized in 1978, Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee is a private, not-for profit, tax-exempt organization. Second Harvest's mission is to feed hungry people and work to solve hunger issues in our community. Second Harvest distributes food and other products to approximately 450 nonprofit partner agencies in 46 counties in Middle and West Tennessee. Our partners include food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, childcare facilities, senior centers, group homes, and youth enrichment programs. For more information on Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee and its programs, please visit secondharvestmidtn.org.

ABOUT FOOD LION

Food Lion, based in Salisbury, N.C., since 1957, has more than 1,100 stores in 10 Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic states and employs more than 63,000 associates. By leveraging its longstanding heritage of low prices and convenient locations, Food Lion is working to own the easiest full shop grocery experience in the Southeast, anchored by a strong commitment to affordability, freshness and the communities it serves. Through Food Lion Feeds, the company has committed to provide 500 million meals to individuals and families in need by the end of 2020. Food Lion is a company of Delhaize America, the U.S. division of Brussels-based Delhaize Group. For more information, visit www.foodlion.com.