What does Walmart do for local communities?

Walmarts approximately 2.3 million associates live and work in local communities around the world. Strong, vibrant towns and cities that provide convenient access to healthier food, stable jobs and support in times of disasters are essential to building strong local economies. Over the years, Walmart has been intentional about leveraging our strengths, associates and other resources to build resiliency in communities.

Through collaboration and philanthropic funding, were working to strengthen the charitable meals system, provide emergency relief in the face of disasters, and support more than 10,000 communities our stores, clubs and facilities serve.

In FY21, total global cash and in-kind donations from Walmart and the Walmart Foundation was $1.4 billion, including $43 million to support our COVID-19 response.

Walmart has a long history of stepping up in times of disaster to help communities with relief and recovery. Since 2016, Walmart, Sams Club and the Walmart Foundation have provided more than $108 million in cash and in-kind donations to support community preparedness and relief efforts for disasters including COVID-19. Additionally, during the same time period, we have raised $44 million in donations from customers to support hurricane relief. In FY21 alone, $50 million was dedicated to disaster recovery and preparedness.

We aim to strengthen the health of our communities, not only by providing products, services and jobs through our retail business, but also by facilitating associate volunteerism, local donations through stores and customers, and support for diversity and inclusion initiatives.

Each year, our U.S. stores and clubs award local cash grants ranging from $250 to $5,000. These local grants are designed to address the unique needs of communities where we operate. They include a variety of organizations, such as animal shelters, elder services and community cleanup projects. In FY21, our stores and clubs provided $43 million in local grants. Examples include donating truckloads of supplies to hospitals, donating tablets to a senior living facility to allow family communication during quarantine and providing Chromebooks to schools to support distance learning.

Additionally, we recently announced an initiative called Walmart Rise, which is a new way for us to support our neighborhoods. To kick it off, we gave an additional $5,000 to every Walmart store and distribution center nationwide in 2019 about $23 million total. This initiative empowers associates and customers locally to connect with non-profits and support them in a range of ways such as: Walmart store/club/DC grants and in-kind donations; non-profit charitable gift registries on Walmart.com; matching funds for associate volunteerism and giving; fundraising campaigns in our stores and eCommerce; matching grants from Walmart or the Walmart Foundation; and by providing Walmart space such as store entrances for use by non-profits.

Lastly, we know that hunger is a reality for many families around the world. In 2010, we made our first public commitment to fight hunger. Since FY2015, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation have funded nutrition education programs reaching 4 million people, a milestone achieved in 2019. Building on this milestone, in FY2021 alone, the Walmart Foundation provided additional funding to reach over 500,000 people with nutrition education. In FY21, Walmart stores, clubs, and distribution centers in the U.S. donated more than 627 million pounds of food, 66 percent of which was fruits, vegetables, dairy products and meats. This work is done in collaboration with groups like Feeding America and local food banks. In 2020 alone, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation contributed more than $13 million in grants to support Feeding America.