We listen closely to our customers. One way that we respond to them is by getting involved in the causes that customers, employees and other stakeholders tell us are important to them.
Sometimes our involvement is very specific: aimed at the individual store level. At others, it is in the form of major charitable sponsorships and fundraising. Our goal is to make a positive impact on the lives of the residents of the communities we serve.
Specific actions
Community involvement helps us to develop and strengthen partnerships with our stakeholders and also reinforces Ahold’s position as an active member of the local community.
Some of the causes that our companies have supported include:
- The Hurricane Katrina relief effort
- CARES - Established by U.S. Foodservice to help employees affected by tragedies
- The Jimmy Fund of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Massachusetts.
- The Children’s Cancer Foundation, which supports five hospital in the Washington D.C.-Baltimore area
- Tsunami relief efforts in South Asia and East Africa
How we target locally
Community involvement is managed by our store brands, closest to the markets and societies in which they operate. We tailor our activities in this area to fit the different needs of our local people and businesses.
As food providers, hunger relief initiatives are a natural focus. All our U.S. supermarket businesses are involved in supporting food banks in their areas.
For example, Giant-Carlisle and Tops solicit donations from customers at the point-of-sale several times each year. During the holiday promotion period, when they run an “Earn a Free Turkey” loyalty program, customers are given the option to donate their earned free turkey to a food bank. Other examples include Stop & Shop’s “Food for Friends” campaign, which in 2005 raised more than USD 1.4 million to benefit America’s Second Harvest Food Bank, a national network of food banks, and other hunger relief agencies in the communicaties it serves.
“'Class Lunch'. An educational program for school-age children. ”
Charitable giving and community involvement are particularly important to our brands in the United States, so they are especially active in community events, sponsoring charitable causes and organizing fundraising activities. Charitable giving is also becoming increasingly important to our European companies.
Healthy living and charitable giving
Sometimes community involvement by our operating companies is rooted in Ahold’s commitment to encourage customers to make the choices for a healthy lifestyle.
For example, in May 2006, Albert Heijn launched a program in which supermarkets and five manufacturers for one week donated a total of 5 percent of turnover (2.5 percent respectively) on certain healthy products to the World Cancer Research Fund.
This campaign was designed to support an organization that specializes in the prevention of cancer by promoting healthy eating and a healthy lifestyle. It is an extension of an Albert Heijn healthy living program called “Eating in Balance” and complements other initiatives, such as special labeling for healthy products and its “Class Lunch” educational program for school-age children.
Similarly, ICA’s support of the Swedish Cancer Society runs parallel to the “Buddy with Your Body – 5 a day” program which aims to teach grade-school students the importance of eating fruits and vegetables. ICA also partners with Sweden’s blood banks and local sports associations to sponsor races around the country that are aimed at recruiting new blood donors and underscoring the importance of physical activity.