Sysco Virginia Donates Major Gift to Blue Ridge Area Food Bank

VERONA, Va., October 19, 2018 /3BL Media/— Sysco Virginia has made a major gift to the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank, committing at least $38,000 over two years to support food bank operations as part of their Nourishing Neighbors program.

Each year, the Food Bank provides more than 21 million meals to hungry children, seniors, and families through a network of partner food pantries, soup kitchens, and shelters, as well as several nutrition programs.

It takes a fleet of trailers, box trucks, a Mobile Food Pantry, and vans handled by full-time drivers to move 25 million pounds of food a year. The entire fleet travels approximately 260,000 miles per year throughout central and western Virginia.

As part of its Delivering Hope partnership opportunity launched in 2018, the Food Bank publicly recognizes select corporate donors in a unique way.

“We will celebrate our partnership with Sysco by displaying their logo on one of the refrigerated trailers in our fleet that travels our entire service area,” said Karen Ratzlaff, chief philanthropy officer.

Sysco has been a generous food donor for many years, having contributed more than 782,000 pounds of food in just the past three years. And this year, Sysco associates donated numerous volunteer hours to the Food Bank.

“As the world’s largest foodservice distributor, Sysco is committed to ending hunger and making healthy food available where it’s needed most,” said Dave Kraft, president, Sysco Virginia. “With our U.S.-wide Nourishing Neighbors program, 75 percent of donations go toward supporting organizations that help feed people. Sysco Virginia is proud to support the Blue Ridge Food Bank. Together we can make a significant impact in the fight against hunger.”

“Sysco has been an important ally in the Food Bank’s mission for years,” said Food Bank CEO Michael McKee. “We are grateful for Sysco’s gift allowing us to reach more hungry individuals and families in the Blue Ridge area.”

About the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank

Founded in 1981, the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank is the largest organization alleviating hunger in western and central Virginia. Headquartered in Verona, VA, the Food Bank serves 25 counties and eight cities through distribution centers in Charlottesville, Lynchburg, Winchester, and Verona. The Blue Ridge Area Food Bank distributes nearly 25.3 million pounds of food annually to 106,000 people each month through a network of 200 community partners – food pantries, soup kitchens, shelters, schools, churches, and other non-profit groups. The Food Bank is a member of Feeding America, a national food bank association that supports 200 food banks across the United States. For more information, visit www.brafb.org.

About Sysco
Sysco is the global leader in selling, marketing, and distributing food products to restaurants, healthcare and educational facilities, lodging establishments and other customers who prepare meals away from home. Its family of products also includes equipment and supplies for the foodservice and hospitality industries. With more than 67,000 associates, the company operates approximately 330 distribution facilities worldwide and serves more than 600,000 customer locations. For fiscal 2018 that ended June 30, 2018, the company generated sales of more than $58 billion. For more information, visit www.sysco.com or connect with Sysco on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SyscoCorporation or Twitter at https://twitter.com/Sysco.