Campus Kitchen at Washington and Lee Receives Donation from Food Lion Feeds Charitable Foundation The donation will support the Campus Kitchen Backpack Program.

Office of Communications and Public Affairs
July 29, 2025

The Campus Kitchen at Washington and Lee (CKWL) has received $5,000 from the Food Lion Feeds Charitable Foundation. The “Nourishing Our Neighbors” grant, designed to help feed neighbors in need, supports community feeding partners as they tackle food insecurity and promote healthier lifestyles through nutritional education initiatives. The grant will support the ongoing efforts of the Campus Kitchen Backpack Program to assist families in Rockbridge County.

“With food insecurity rates rising in our area and household budgets becoming increasingly strained, the format of the Backpack Program provides a convenient and reliable support system to families in and around Rockbridge County,” said Ryan Brink, CKWL Coordinator. “The Food Lion Feeds Charitable Foundation has been a long-time supporter of the university’s Campus Kitchen Backpack Program, and we are incredibly grateful for their continued support.”

The Campus Kitchen Backpack Program was established in 2009 to address the meal gap experienced by children receiving free and reduced lunch in schools throughout Rockbridge County and provides weekly packages of non-perishable breakfast, lunch and snack items to registered children at area schools. The funding from the Food Lion Feeds Charitable Foundation will go toward the purchase of food for this program, which currently delivers 650 backpacks each week to preschoolers, elementary school students and middle school students in the local school districts.

The Food Lion Feeds Charitable Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Food Lion, based in Salisbury, North Carolina. Established in 2001, the Food Lion Feeds Charitable Foundation provides financial support for programs and organizations dedicated to eliminating hunger in their communities. The foundation partners with Feeding America, the nation’s largest hunger-relief agency, as well as local food agencies across its 10-state footprint. To date, the foundation has provided more than $23 million in grant funding to support local hunger-relief initiatives, including backpack programs, Kids Cafes and food banks. For more information, visit www.foodlion.com/pages/food-lion-feeds.