GLIDE Joins Safeway’s Holiday Campaign to Fight Hunger

GLIDE Joins Safeway’s Holiday Campaign to Fight Hunger

Help Us End Hunger (Every Bag Counts) Food Drive
 to Benefit Food Banks Throughout the U.S.
Safeway Shoppers Can Support Special Food Drive on Saturday, November 19 at San Francisco Safeway Stores
and Help GLIDE Provide Groceries and 5,000 Turkeys for Families and Holiday Meals

San Francisco – Safeway Inc., is launching the Help Us End Hunger (Every Bag Counts) food drive to help make the holidays brighter for people who rely on the assistance of food banks and for the second year in a row, GLIDE’s Legacy Committee will partner with Safeway and will be stationed in front of two San Francisco Safeway stores on Saturday, November 19 in hopes of receiving donated bags of groceries and 1,000 donated turkeys to supplement GLIDE’s Annual Grocery Bag Giveaway and holiday meals in December.

The GLIDE food drive is a part of Safeway’s Northern California effort to help hungry families this holiday season. Safeway is partnering with Kraft Foods, NBC Bay Area TV, customers and local food banks to collect food donations at all Safeway stores from November 16 through December 24, with a special day for food banks and their volunteers to meet and greet Safeway customers and donors on Saturday, November 19. GLIDE's Legacy Committee will be onsite in front of two San Francisco Safeway stores (2020 Market St. and 15 Marina Blvd.) on Saturday, November 19 from 10am to 4pm, to remind shoppers about the food drive and to collect donated bags of groceries and turkeys.

Safeway Club Card customers who spend $25 at participating Safeway stores in San Francisco can purchase a turkey at a discounted price and from November 16 – December 24 a specially-produced shopping bag filled with the items that food banks need the most will be available for $10 at all Safeway stores. The bag includes: Chicken of the Sea Chunk White Tuna, Kraft Nabisco Premium Crackers, Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, Pantry Essentials Canned Vegetables, Safeway Spaghetti or Macaroni (1 pound package), Safeway Long Grain Rice (2 pound package), Safeway Stuffing, Safeway Cranberry Sauce.

“We are grateful to Safeway for providing a perfect opportunity for their customers to help the thousands of people that depend on GLIDE every day,” said Reverend Cecil Williams, GLIDE’s Founder and Minister of Liberation. “Safeway customers should feel good knowing that the donated food and turkeys will be enjoyed by thousands this holiday season,” added Janice Mirikitani, GLIDE’s Founding President.

“Assisting people who need a helping hand during the holidays and throughout the year is an important part of Safeway’s giving programs,” said Karl Schroeder, President of Safeway Northern California. “This campaign provides an opportunity for our employees and customers to help their communities and make a brighter holiday for countless families.”

"This year, more than ever, the need to give back and feed our community is at an all time high, said Mike Kim, Chair of GLIDE’s Legacy Committee, “We're thrilled to partner with Safeway for this annual food drive to ensure that everyone gets a full, warm plate of food for the holidays." 

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WHAT: GLIDE Legacy Committee Joins Safeway’s Campaign to Fight Hunger; Aims to Raise 1,000 Donated Turkeys and encourage customers to participate in food drive

WHEN: Saturday, November 19, 2011 from 10am to 4pm

WHERE: San Francisco Safeway Stores:
2020 Market St. (in the Castro Neighborhood)
15 Marina Blvd. (in the Marina)

HOW YOU CAN HELP: Purchase a specially priced turkey at Safeway and donate to the GLIDE Legacy Committee Volunteers in front of the stores.
Purchase pre-filled $10 bag of holiday groceries and place in donation bin in front of store

To learn more about GLIDE and how you can help out this holiday season, go to glide.org or call (415) 674-6000.

About The GLIDE Legacy Committee
The GLIDE Legacy Committee is a radically inclusive team comprised of social entrepreneurs who strive to engage, inspire and educate new audiences of young professionals within the San Francisco Bay Area through GLIDE’s mission of unconditional love, compassion and social justice to broaden and deepen community involvement with the organization.

About GLIDE:
Located at Ellis and Taylor in the Tenderloin, one of San Francisco's harshest urban environments, GLIDE is an oasis that has served the poor and disenfranchised for more than 45 years. GLIDE is unconditional in its love, support and commitment to the community it serves – providing a range of holistic services from serving over one million free meals a year, to providing affordable housing, free or low-cost state-of-the-art healthcare along with dozens of other programs that help to alleviate suffering and break the cycles of poverty and marginalization. With an unwavering commitment grounded in spirituality and emotional understanding, GLIDE is a leading organization for social justice – inspiring the larger community to celebrate humanity through compassion, generosity and acceptance. For more information, visit http://www.glide.org .
For more information about GLIDE, to donate or volunteer please call (415) 674-6000 or visit http://www.glide.org .

About Safeway http://www.Safeway.com
Safeway Inc. is a Fortune 100 company and one of the largest food and drug retailers in North America, based on sales. The company operates 1,694 stores in the United States and western Canada and had annual sales of $41.1 billion in 2010. The company’s common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol SWY.

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