Strack & Van Til Provides Meals for Many During Holidays

The holidays consistently prove to be a time of giving from members of the Independent Grocers Alliance as they feed and sustain their communities in ways that other businesses cannot.

That’s especially true of the folks at Strack & Van Til, who recently made generous donations to the Salvation Army of Northwest Indiana and Food Bank of Northwest Indiana. Strack & Van Til President & CEO Jeff Strack and COO David Wilkinson presented the Salvation Army of Northwest Indiana with a check for $100,000 in Strack & Van Til gift cards as they kicked off the Red Kettle Season.

The gift cards will be provided to families served through four Salvation Army Community Centers in Gary, East Chicago, Munster, and Valparaiso, Indiana, so they have access to nutritious and delicious food for their holiday meals.

“Helping those in our community has always been a priority for Strack & Van Til. We support many organizations and events throughout the year and Salvation Army is one of those that we are proud to support,” says Strack. “They really do make a difference in people’s lives when they need it most, and oftentimes it’s when it’s least expected.”

Kevin Feldman, director of development for the Salvation Army in Northwest Indiana, says he and Salvation Army are grateful to work with Strack & Van Til and appreciate the yearlong fundraising that the company and its customers do for them.

“Frankly, there is no better partner than Strack & Van Til,” Feldman says. “In the summertime, it’s their Check Out Challenge that raises anywhere from $25,000 to $35,000 for us in just two weeks."

Strack & Van Til is also a major sponsor of the Salvation Army's annual golf outing, and provides them with a tremendous amount of food donations throughout the year. 

Strack & Van Til managers and employees packed groceries at the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana.

Reducing Food Insecurity

With nearly 100,000 individuals — or one in six people — in Northwest Indiana classified as food insecure, which means they lack access to good, nutritious food for themselves and their families, Strack & Van Til also prioritize their donations with the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana. 

Strack & Van Til’s team of store managers and employees visited the Food Bank of Northwest Indiana in November and December to pack the groceries that families receive through Food Bank pantry partners. The grocer donated 1,500 holiday meals for Thanksgiving and another 2,000 for Christmas, which included a turkey for Thanksgiving, a ham for Christmas and, depending on the holiday, all the sides to complete the meal with stuffing, gravy mix, potatoes, corn, green beans, sweet potatoes, yams, cranberry sauce, sliced pineapple, macaroni and cheese, and pie.

“As we continue to work hard in our stores to meet the needs of the community, we realize there are many people in Northwest Indiana who need help, especially during the holidays,” Strack says. “We are proud to partner again with Food Bank of Northwest Indiana to provide food assistance to so many families. Helping feed our neighbors has always been a priority for Strack & Van Til.”

A priority indeed, as the Strack & Van Til team also packed another 500 Christmas Meals for the Boys and Girls Club in conjunction with MolsonCoors, Indiana Beverage, and Aunt Millie’s. Those meals included a ham, corn, green beans, wild rice, yams, sliced pineapple, macaroni and cheese, loaf bread, and pie. All told, 4,000 bags of groceries were donated for the winter holidays, making a huge impact on food insecurity in Northwest Indiana.

To supplement its direct food donations, the final Strack & Van Til Checkout Challenge Round Up of the year will benefit Food Bank of Northwest Indiana in Lake County. Now through Jan. 1, customers can round their purchase up to the nearest dollar to help support Food Bank of Northwest Indiana.

“Once again Strack & Van Til and Town & Country feel privileged to partner with Food Bank of Northwest Indiana in the annual holiday round-up campaign. Our customers and community have embraced this as a way to donate small amounts of change that end up making a big impact in the community. We are honored to be the conduit between our customers and those that need help the most,” Strack says.

For more information on the Checkout Challenge Round Up, please visit strackandvantil.com.