For the fifth year in a row Harris Teeter Grocery has initiated its annual Harvest Feast Food Drive. It gives shoppers an opportunity to ensure food bank shelves are stocked during the holidays.
During the 2007 food drive, Harris Teeter and its shoppers donated over $150,000 in gift cards to food bank partners. In addition, the company hosts three Harvest Feast dinners and plans to serve over 15,000 individuals in need of a free Thanksgiving style meal this year.
Presently, Harris Teeter shoppers can purchase $5 and $20 Harvest Feast donation cards whenever they check out at a local Harris Teeter store. At the conclusion of the drive, the company will distribute the gift cards to its food bank partners. They, in turn, will use the cards to purchase the necessary items to serve their clients.
If a shoppers wishes to make a specific food donation, in the form of non-perishable items, collection bins are now located at the entrance of all Harris Teeter stores. "Harris Teeter is committed to ending hunger in the communities it serves," said Harris Teeter President Fred Morganthall in a written statement.
"Our shoppers have proven their generosity in the past. By giving them an opportunity to donate I know we will be able to make a difference this holiday season," Morganthall said.
All Harris Teeter stores will participate in the Harvest Feast Drive and all items donated will remain in each individual store's community. Hunger is an equal opportunity problem. It does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, or sex. It affects the elderly, unemployed, disabled, homeless, working class, children, and victims of natural disasters, according to Morganthall.