A Walmart Foundation donation to The Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore mobile pantry will fund 234,375 meals, the nonprofit group says.

The $75,000 donation was marked with a check presentation ceremony at the downtown Suffolk Walmart Tuesday morning.

It costs 32 cents to provide one complete meal via the mobile pantry, said Julie Braley, the foodbank’s marking and business relations director.

“This will go a very long way,” she said of the Walmart donation.

Also representing the foodbank at the ceremony were Marianne Smith Vargas, chief philanthropy officer, and CEO Joanne E. Batson.

“The foodbank serves this area, as well as 10 other cities and counties,” Vargas said. “I can’t tell you how happy we are to be here today and thank Walmart for your tremendous support.”

Representing Walmart were market manager Jade White and Shonda Hill, manager of the North Main Street store.

“A lot of people realize we have a five-year commitment to donate $2 billion to hunger relief efforts,” said White, also a Walmart State Advisory Council Member.

The foodbank’s mobile pantry “takes the need to the people,” he added.

“In some cases, the folks in need are not able to get to the foodbank. The mobile pantry is one of the avenues that makes it (the foodbank) available to serve the needs of the community.”

Batson said, “We talk about reaching children and reaching seniors. It’s not just a check, it’s the lives you are going to touch with this.”

The donation, for instance, will help a lot of children get to school with full instead of empty bellies, Batson said.

Hunger means “they can’t do well at school if they have a test tomorrow,” she said. “I’m thinking of how many children you are going to reach, and how they are going to be able to get ahead in this world.

“We are going to be able to touch the lives of so many people.”

The mobile pantry served over 950,000 meals last year, Batson said, putting in context the over 230,000 meals Walmart’s donation will provide.

“We have a mobile pantry out there every day now,” she said.
The mobile pantry’s main strength is taking meals directly to where they are most needed, Braley said. But it doesn’t come cheap.

“It’s expensive dealing with trucks – maintenance of trucks, employees that drive them,” Braley said.

Plus, she said, the nutritious, low-sodium, low-sugar meals the mobile pantry provides come at a higher cost.

“We want to make sure we are not only feeding people, but we are nourishing them as well,” she said.