Bashas’ Stores and Customers Donate $2.6M to Arizona Nonprofits in 2020
Bashas’ family of stores donated more than $2.6 million to nonprofits in 2020 through its Charity of the Month fundraising campaigns at the checkout.
In addition, the grocer donated more than 1.24 million pounds of food to divert food waste and feed hungry families in Arizona through its Grocery Rescue program.
“Last year was a challenging one for so many individuals and families,” said Edward “Trey” Basha, President and CEO of Bashas’ Family of Stores. “Seeing the incredible generosity of our customers – and Arizonans as a whole – is a silver lining.”
Basha credited the year-over-year increase in Charity of the Month donations to a technology upgrade that invited customers to donate through PIN pads at checkout, rather than relying solely on cashiers asking each customer individually.
Benefiting organizations from the grocer’s 2020 Charity of the Month campaigns included: American Heart Association, A New Leaf, Arizona Humane Society, Banner Children’s Hospital, Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center, Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona, Folds of Honor, Make-a-Wish Arizona, March of Dimes, Northern Arizona Healthcare Foundation, People Acting Now Discovering Answers (PANDA), Ronald McDonald House Charities, Southwest Autism Research and Resource Center (SARRC), The Salvation Army, St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, St. Mary’s Food Bank, St. Vincent de Paul, The University of Arizona’s Cancer Center, The University of Arizona’s Steele Children’s Research Hospital, United Food Bank, and Yuma Community Food Bank.
“While many businesses decided to focus their fundraising support solely on pandemic relief, we remained steadfast in our commitments to our Charity of the Month program in addition to pandemic relief support,” said Basha. “We knew local nonprofits were continuing to experience strong fundraising challenges and were counting on us.”
Bashas’ Family of Stores was the first grocer in Arizona to provide special shopping hours for seniors, knowing they are more vulnerable to COVID-19. The hometown grocer also has an extensive in-kind donation program to provide ongoing support to emergency response teams and nonprofits in need, and invites vendors to participate in its give-back programs as well. For example, last year Bashas’ and FirstFruits funded 42,000 emergency meals for children and families on the Navajo Nation, equipping St. Mary’s Food Bank with about a three-and-a-half-month supply of meals for the northeastern part of the state.
“We want to do our part to share what resources we can to help those who especially need it,” said Basha.
As an added way to fundraise for their organization, more than 1,400 nonprofits, schools and churches utilized the grocer’s Community Support Card program last year. Each participating nonprofit has a specially designated set of grocery gift cards that are distributed to supporters. When supporters reload their gift cards, 6% of the reloaded amount is donated back to the organization. In 2020, Bashas’ Family of Stores gave back more than $72,000 to these organizations through this program.
Through partnerships with local organizations to divert food waste and feed hungry families, Bashas’ Family of Stores’ Grocery Rescue program diverted more than 1.24 million pounds of food from landfills to more than 75 nonprofit agencies in 2020. Representatives from local food banks, churches and schools regularly pickup produce, bakery, deli, and dairy items so that hungry families in need can consume the perishable items before they expire.
Since 1932, Bashas’ Family of Stores has given back more than $100 million to the communities it serves.
