Hunger Is: Albertsons Companies Foundation and Entertainment Industry Foundation
In the highly competitive grocery space, in order to distinguish their community engagement from competitors, Albertsons Companies strives to impact their local communities at 2,300 stores and clearly connect customers to a cause through positive messaging. In 2014, several of the main food-security focused nonprofits (Feeding America, Share Our Strength: No Kid Hungry, FRAC, Hunger Free America and WhyHunger) joined forces with the Albertsons Companies 
Foundation (ACF) and the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF) to bring greater awareness to childhood hunger in America and the stark fact that 1 in 5 children struggle with food security. Although the Hunger Is movement started in 2014, it needed to be reimagined and refocused in 2016 and set a shared cause goal of providing 5 million more breakfasts to kids in need.
Albertsons Companies participated in a 30-day campaign to support the effort, which included customer donations at the checkstand. The campaign took place in more than 2,300 Albertsons Companies stores.
The team communicated early and often with local operating areas through leadership presentations and an implementation guide; an online toolkit for local stores and funded organizations; connecting recipient organizations with local stores through “thank you” visits to express appreciation to employees; and inviting employees to volunteer events. The team mitigated the challenges of lost materials and faulty execution by partnering with Direct Store Delivery agencies that went into stores and set up materials, eliminating the burden on store employees.
Having found that customer are more likely to donate when consistently asked, the company also implemented an automatic ask at the pin pad.
Customers surveyed reported positive feelings about the store and their experience with the campaign.
Over $5 million – raised from customer point of sale donations – was donated directly to 108 geographically aligned nonprofit organizations (a change from the previous organization-centric model) to provide breakfast both in and out of school, achieving their goal of over 5 million breakfasts to kids in need.
