Hannaford Pledges $500K to Racial Equity Efforts

Ahold Delhaize USA banner Hannaford Supermarkets is committing $500,000 to support racial equity and justice initiatives, economic empowerment efforts, and educational opportunity scholarships focused on diversity, equity and inclusion across its five-state region. 

These gifts are in addition to existing Hannaford donations to organizations working in support of those goals.

Hannaford joins other Ahold banners — plus Kroger, Walmart and other food retailers — in pledging over the past year to tackle racial injustice.

“At Hannaford, we understand that we have a responsibility for helping build strong and healthy communities, where our customers, our associates and our families can thrive.  No community can be healthy so long as racial injustice and inequity persist,” said Mike Vail, Hannaford president.  “Today, we are investing in efforts to help empower individuals who too often face unfair disadvantages. In the days and years ahead, we are committed to working across our region, within our business and through collaboration with others to create meaningful and sustained change, so that our entire community can succeed together.”

The $500,000 in donations include:

• $200,000 to the NAACP state and regional conferences for New England ($150,000) and the State of New York ($50,000) to support their work in creating economic opportunity, combating educational inequality, fighting for racial justice, and strengthening the communities Hannaford serves in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Vermont.
• $200,000 to fund scholarships at the University of Southern Maine ($100,000) and University at Albany ($100,000) to help support diversity and equity in educational opportunity.
• $65,000 to help minority-owned businesses across Hannaford’s operating region succeed, with donations to the Greater New England Minority Supplier Development Council ($50,000) and similar efforts in New York ($15,000).
• $35,000 to support previously announced community empowerment efforts through the Racial Equality fund sponsored by Greater Portland United Way ($25,000) and the Racial Justice Fund initiated by the Maine Justice Foundation ($10,000).

The NAACP New England Area Conference will use the $150,000 donation to support its work in creating economic opportunity, combating educational inequality, fighting for racial justice and strengthening the communities Hannaford serves in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont. 

The New York State NAACP will use the $50,000 donation to support its work in creating economic opportunity, combating educational inequality, fighting for racial justice and strengthening the communities Hannaford serves in New York.

The University of Southern Maine will use the $100,000 donation from Hannaford for its Access to Education Fund, which focuses on creating a diverse student body by helping members of traditionally underrepresented groups, first generation college students, students of diverse background or students coming to Maine from an international location, such as asylum seekers. The donation will fully fund the scholarship for two years and is anticipated to help a total of 24 students access higher education opportunities.

The University at Albany will use a portion of the $100,000 donation to create the Hannaford Education Opportunity Program Scholarship, which will help more than 100 students who are at risk of not affording school due to relatively small financial gaps. The remainder of the donation will fund the Hannaford Scholarship for Excellence, which will be awarded to a total of 10 students who demonstrate academic achievement and support the creation of a diverse student body.

The Greater New England Minority Supplier Development Council will use the $65,000 in funding to help minority-owned businesses across Hannaford’s operating region succeed.

Scarborough, Maine-based Hannaford operates 184 stores in five Northeast states, employing more than 26,000 associates. Parent company Ahold Delhaize USA, a division of Zaandam, Netherlands-based Ahold Delhaize, is No. 11 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2020 list of the top food and consumables retailers in the United States.