HOUSTON, April 09, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sysco Corporation (NYSE:SYY), the leading global foodservice distribution company, today announced a new sponsorship with Brad Paisley and Kimberly Williams-Paisley’s non-profit organization, The Store. In addition to a cash donation, as part of its Nourishing Neighbors initiative, Sysco has agreed to provide refrigeration equipment for The Store facility and fresh produce through FreshPoint, the Company’s produce distribution company, in support of The Store and as part of a combined effort to fight hunger and food insecurity in the Nashville, Tennessee, community.
The Store will operate as a free-referral based grocery store, allowing people in need to shop with dignity for their basic needs. It aims to empower individuals seeking self-sufficiency.
Brad Paisley said, “Our goal is to give dignity to parents. They can go to The Store and shop in a completely normal way, from choosing the food to checking out, but with no money exchanging hands. The kids can even ride a mechanical pony out in front of The Store – no charge. Kids do not need the stress of wondering how their parents are going to feed them. I am grateful for our Founder’s Circle partners, Belmont, Sysco, Amerigroup and ESa, they and all of our community partners, are helping to make The Store a reality.”
“Sysco is proud to partner with The Store in order to empower and dignify individuals and families who are seeking self-sufficiency by providing choices for healthy food,” said Tom Bené, Sysco’s chairman, president and chief executive officer. “We believe it is our responsibility to support the communities where we live and work and have committed to feed those in need. By 2025, our goal is to donate 200 million meals and $50 million to help feed our local communities, in part through partnerships with organizations like The Store, who are dedicated to serving local communities and increasing food security.”
“I’m so excited to be here and see this dream come to fruition. In Nashville there are 1 in 7 people and 1 in 5 children that have food insecurity. That means they don’t know where they are going to get their next meal. The Store will be another resource to help families and individuals going through a hard time but working toward self-sufficiency,” added Kimberly Williams-Paisley.
About Sysco
Sysco is the global leader in selling, marketing and distributing food products to restaurants, healthcare and educational facilities, lodging establishments and other customers who prepare meals away from home. Its family of products also includes equipment and supplies for the foodservice and hospitality industries. With over 67,000 associates, the company operates approximately 330 distribution facilities worldwide and serves more than 600,000 customer locations. For fiscal 2018 that ended June 30, 2018, the company generated sales of more than $58 billion.
For more information, visit www.sysco.com or connect with Sysco on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SyscoCorporation or Twitter at https://twitter.com/Sysco. For important news and information regarding Sysco, visit the Investor Relations section of the company's Internet home page at http://investors.sysco.com/, which Sysco plans to use as a primary channel for publishing key information to its investors, some of which may contain material and previously non-public information. Investors should also follow us at www.twitter.com/SyscoStock and download the Sysco IR App, available on the iTunes App Store and the Google Play Market. In addition, investors should continue to review our news releases and filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. It is possible that the information we disclose through any of these channels of distribution could be deemed to be material information.
About Nourishing Neighbors
The problem of hunger in America is real – almost 50 million Americans struggle to get food on the table. As the world’s largest food distributor, Sysco is in a position to do something about the issue of hunger. Our goal is to champion organizations that work to eliminate hunger and increase food security in our most underserved neighborhoods and among our most vulnerable populations, like children and senior citizens. Sysco’s Nourishing Neighbors program directs at least 75% of charitable donations and volunteer efforts to charitable organizations that work to feed people, like food banks, youth after-school and weekend food programs, shelters and meal deliveries to seniors. We commit a portion of the proceeds from Sysco Brand local case sales to Nourishing Neighbors to aid in our fight against hunger, one meal at a time.
About The Store
Brad Paisley and Kimberly Williams-Paisley have partnered with Belmont University to spearhead The Store, a year-round free grocery store allowing people to shop with dignity for their basic needs. Individuals and families will be referred by non-profit and government agencies for a term of one year. There is no charge to those referred or to the people and agencies that send them. They may shop for food to supplement their income during times of crisis and as they work toward self-sufficiency.
A philosophy of community empowerment means The Store aims to solve hunger issues in its community by developing programs to meet the needs of the community, including partnering with other organizations on issues of food security. The Store believes in cooperation and collaboration between organizations to better serve the population. Over time, the organization plans to develop additional supplemental services beyond the grocery store, such as job training, cooking and nutrition classes.
For more information contact:
Camilla Zuckero
Media and Investor Relations Contact
Zuckero.camilla@corp.sysco.com
T 281-899-1839