Local retailer aids food bank

Published 8:00 pm Sunday, November 19, 2006

By By Lisa Tindell – news writer
Around the holidays it's hard to imagine that $5 will go very far. However, the management and employees at Southern Family Markets are gearing up to do more good than imaginable with a few dollars.
The program called, &#8220Family to Family,” was launched Monday and will continue through the holidays to end of Dec. 30.
The simplicity of the program should make it attractive to customers at the local store. Customers will simply add a pre-filled grocery bag to the cart and pay for it along with their regular pucrchases at check-out. The bag will then be flagged with a paid sticker and placed in a large bin to await pick-up and delivery to families in the area.
As of Thursday, the Brewton Southern Family Market location had sold more than half of the bags in their original display. More bags will be prepared and available for purchase throughout the holiday season, Brown said. The Atmore location of the chain is also participating in the event with bags purchased by customers there to be distributed in the Atmore area.
The food drive is intended to focus local attention on the problem of domestic hunger and its impact on families and children. It will also help to rebuild depleted reserves at local food banks immediately after the holidays.
Southern Family Markets, based in Birmingham, operates 56 supermarkets across the Southeast.