Hunger Is A 24/7 365 Day A Year Problem

Thanks to Western States, Albertsons, and Wells Fargo, many families will have food to put on their table. After the holidays we all seem to forget about the food banks and the people who need our help, but in reality our food banks need our help on January 25th as much as they need help on December 25th. All the food and money raised in the Tri-Cities will stay local and benefit the  Second Harvest Inland Northwest food bank. You can stop by any Tri-Cities Albertsons store and drop off food through February 10th. You can drop off money and food at any Western Statse cat location, or any Wells Fargo location, again until February 10th. The goal of "Dump Hunger", is to fill the beds of Four CAT 730 dump trucks, that would be about 300,000 pounds of food. So join KORD and Chuck Hall this Saturday from 10am to noon at Albertsons on Clearwater in Kennewick. I'll have some give aways and would love to see you.

Contact:

David Reimann, Western States
208-884-2249; davidreimann@wseco.com

Rod Wieber, Chief Resource Officer

509-252-6259; rwieber@2-harvest.org

Chad Biggs, Red Sky Public Relations

208-921-8270; chadbiggs@redskypr.com

"Dump Hunger" Continues to Grow With New Partners, More Locations and Larger Goal

Western States, Albertsons seek to raise 300,000 pounds of food for local food banks, welcome Wells Fargo to campaign

January 9, 2012, (Spokane, WA) – Momentum continues to build for the fourth annual “Dump Hunger” food drive as Western States and Albertsons set the most aggressive goal in its history, add Wells Fargo as a partner and expand the number of locations and opportunities to donate. With a goal to generate awareness and fill the bed of four CAT 730 dump trucks by collecting 300,000 pounds of food, each company involved with Dump Hunger will support local communities throughout the Intermountain West by supporting food banks at the most critical time of year. Donations to the campaign can be taken to any Western States locations, participating ALBERTSONS stores or Wells Fargo locations and online at www.westernstatescat.com/dumphunger.

"Hunger doesn’t stop after the holidays and it plays no favorites when it comes to our communities,” said Western States President Tom Harris. “Four years ago our employees rallied together during challenging times to fill the shelves of our area food banks with the support of our valued customers and partners. This commitment to giving back to the communities where we live and serve is just as evident today, and we’re excited to have the partnership of like-minded businesses such as Albertsons and Wells Fargo to take Dump Hunger to a new level.”

“Dump Hunger has become a tremendous resource for fighting hunger across the Intermountain West, reflecting our commitment to supporting and giving back to the communities we serve," said Mike Clawson, president of ALBERTSONS Intermountain West. "Through the tremendous partnership and collaboration with Western States and other businesses across our region we’ve raised more than a million pounds of food since Dump Hunger started.  We look forward to building on that legacy this year.”

“Just as Western States and Albertsons are committed to giving back, Wells Fargo believes in investing in our communities,” said Dana Reddington, Idaho Region president, Wells Fargo.  “Dump Hunger aligns perfectly with our vision and values and we look forward to working with the great partners and community leaders to exceed campaign goals and truly make a difference in every community we serve.”

Dump Hunger seeks to secure enough food to fill the bed of four CAT 730 dump trucks, the industry’s largest payload vehicle in its class, which are individually capable of holding 75,000 pounds of food. Given the increasing number of households facing food insecurity, the goal of the Dump Hunger campaign has increased by 75,000 pounds for 2012, or one CAT 730 dump truck. 

"We continue to see an increase in demand for our services and the Dump Hunger campaign is critical to our post-holiday efforts to meet this demand," said Jason Clark, CEO & President of Second Harvest in Spokane. "Hunger is a problem that impacts families and seniors in every neighborhood and region, often regardless of employment status. Food banks serve those who need help during challenging financial times until they are able to move forward and Dump Hunger enables us to better serve those in need after the holidays. "

In addition to customer food donations, Albertsons will contribute $20,000 in food items and Wells Fargo will donate $20,000 cash to the participating food bank partners involved with Dump Hunger. Western States will contribute $1 for every 5 pounds of food collected, up to a $15,000 dollar match.

Ways to Donate:

Those interested in donating food to Dump Hunger can do so at any Western States location or participating Albertsons stores and Wells Fargo branches in Idaho, western Wyoming and Montana, and eastern Oregon and Washington. A full list of locations can be found here. Monetary donations can be made at participating Wells Fargo locations or online at www.westernstatescat.com/dumphunger.

Items of Greatest Need:

Every donation makes a difference, as many regional food banks are experiencing an increase of 30 percent or more in requests for help compared to last year. While specific needs vary, each food bank can use the following items:

• Boxed meals (Mac &Cheese, Hamburger Helper, etc.)
• Peanut butter
• Canned fruit
• Canned meals (soup, chili, stew, etc.)
• Canned vegetables
• Cereal
• Dried beans
• Pasta
• Rice
• Stuffing mix
• Pasta sauce

About Dump Hunger

Dump Hunger is a post-holiday food drive sponsored by Western States Equipment. The five-week campaign partners the 13 Western States branch locations with local Albertsons stores and food banks that serve their shared communities. The post-holiday timing of Dump Hunger is critical for food banks as January and February mark the lowest levels of food donations. To date Dump Hunger has gathered 1,233,017 pounds of food for the communities it serves. Dump Hunger launches on Monday, January 9th and ends on Monday, February 10th. The goal is to gather 300,000 pounds of food – equal to four CAT 730 truckloads.  Caterpillar has regularly recognized the Dump Hunger campaign as the Best Community Event by all CAT dealers in the United States. For more information, including Dump Hunger campaign pictures, Western States branch locations, and a weekly Dump Hunger tracker, visit www.westernstatescat.com.

About Albertsons

Albertsons is part of the SUPERVALU family of grocery stores.  Albertsons was founded in 1939 and currently operates 447 Albertsons and Lucky supermarkets in Southern California, Southern Nevada, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.  For more information about Albertsons, visit our website at www.albertsons.com

About Western States Equipment

With more than 70 years experience in the agricultural, mining and construction industries, Western States Equipment is an authorized Caterpillar dealer for five mountain states with 13 branches located in Idaho, western Wyoming and Montana, and eastern Oregon and Washington. Caterpillar recently recognized the Dump Hunger campaign as the Best Community Event by all CAT dealers in the United States for the second year in a row. For more information, including Dump Hunger campaign pictures and Western States branch locations, visit www.westernstatescat.com. Western States was recently recognized by Idaho C.L. “Butch” Otter as Corporation Volunteer of the Year, receiving the Governor’s Brightest Star Award for its efforts with the Dump Hunger Food Drive, the Ronald McDonald House Sporting Clays Tournament and a number of other contributions to Idaho communities. http://westernstatescat.com

About Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a nationwide, diversified, community-based financial services company with $1.3 trillion in assets. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance through more than 9,000 stores, 12,000 ATMs, the Internet (wellsfargo.com and wachovia.com), and other distribution channels across North America and internationally. With more than 270,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in America.  Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 23 on Fortune’s 2011 rankings of America’s largest corporations. Wells Fargo’s vision is to satisfy all our customers’ financial needs and help them succeed financially.  

Editor’s Note: Graphic files available upon request.