ELIZABETH CITY – Food Bank of the Albemarle announces that Food Lion has generously donated $100,000 in gift cards, food and water to food banks in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Virginia to help provide relief to those significantly impacted by Hurricane Matthew. Food Bank of the Albemarle received $12,500 in the form of $20 Food Lion gift cards. This large gift will be used to purchase food for the victims of Hurricane Matthew.

Executive Director Liz Reasoner expressed gratitude for the award.

“We are incredibly grateful for this generous contribution from Food Lion and their ongoing support for hunger relief,” Reasoner said. “This will provide approximately 50,000 meals to the hungry men, women and children affected by the storm.”

Food Lion’s donation to Food Bank of the Albemarle is just one area where the retail grocer is helping people that have experienced hardships due to storm damage.

“For nearly 60 years, Food Lion has been a proud neighbor in many local communities across our 10 states,” said Food Lion President Meg Ham. “Part of being a good neighbor is being there to lend a hand to support communities during a time of need. Caring for our customers and communities is an integral part of who we are as a company and what our associates do every day. And, it’s times like these where we have the responsibility to be there for our communities in and around our stores affected by Hurricane Matthew.”

Food Bank of the Albemarle is working with emergency management operations, The American Red Cross, and Salvation Army and to date, has distributed over 179,101 pounds of food and water across 10 counties of the Food Bank’s service area. Increased demand at local food pantries, soup kitchens and mobile food distributions has made the need for donations great.

For more information, or to make a donation today to help disaster relief, visit www.afoodbank.org, or call 252-335-4035.

The Food Bank of the Albemarle serves 15 counties in northeast North Carolina.