In a special presentation at Walmart’s Armory Drive location in Franklin on June 13, the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore received a $30,000 grant from the Walmart Foundation and the Virginia State Giving Advisory Council.

The funds will be used to provide meals through the Foodbank’s Mobile Pantry Program to children, seniors and families struggling with hunger. Food is distributed Monday through Friday using a specialized Foodbank truck that visits locations where access to emergency food supplies are limited or lacking.

“Our Mobile Pantry Program has grown so much with the support of generous contributors like the Walmart Foundation,” said Marianne F. Smith Vargas, CPO for the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore.

“Last fiscal year, we were able to bring much-needed food to nearly 25,000 individuals, and the need for this method of distribution continues to increase.”

“This continues to be a priority program for Walmart because it allows the Foodbank to reach people who might otherwise not have access to food,” said Walmart market manager Jade White.

“Walmart has been extremely impressed with this service, and we are delighted that the Walmart Foundation through the Virginia State Giving Council can once again help families in Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore gain access to these goods.”

Delivering quality food items at drive-up or walk-up locations where access to food resources is extremely limited, the Mobile Pantry Program distributed more than a million meals to those in need in fiscal year 2014.

Providing pantry staples, fresh produce, meat, low-fat dairy, breads and other items, mobile pantries take the burden off of customers from having to travel longer distances to obtain emergency food assistance.