Ahold Delhaize N : Honoring Martin Luther King Day

Zaandam, the Netherlands, January 17, 2022 -Today is a national holiday in the United States that honors Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr.King was an influential civil rights leader who dedicated his life to racial justice and ending racial segregation in the United States. His life and achievements are remembered and celebrated on this day.

In addition to this, MLK Day is also widely recognized as a day of service. Each year associates and customers across the country will take part in a variety of volunteering opportunities and social justice efforts. See how Ahold Delhaize's great local U.S. brands are doing their part to support this important day.

Retail Business Services
Today, RBS is hosting its annual MLK Day of Service. Associates are encouraged to attend a virtual celebration in the morning that will feature renowned slam poet/performer/actor Ed Mabrey before heading out to serve their community either in person or virtually, however they like. RBS has also provided a range of options and ideas on how and where associates can serve their communities tied to the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday. These include advocating for social justice and addressing food insecurity.The GIANT Company
The GIANT Company honors the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. by celebrating diversity, building equity and promoting inclusion - not just in January, but all year long. The GIANT Company does this in many ways, including providing paid volunteer time as a way for associates s to give back. It's just one of the ways the brand strives to reflect, remember and then take action to make a difference in the communities The GIANT Company serves.

Below are some of the specific ways The GIANT Company is honoring the life and legacy of Dr. King:

• The GIANT Company is the signature sponsor of the Central Pennsylvania MLK Day of Service and has donated $10,000 to honor Dr. King's legacy and support the community. The funds will be used to support local non-profits and help with volunteer projects.
• The brand is giving an additional $10,000 to the Eastern Minority Supplier Development Center (EMSDC), to help minority-owned businesses get certified and elevate impact on diverse suppliers.
• As the founding partner of Pennsylvania's CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates), The GIANT Company has donated $10,000 to assist community programs arranged by CASA. The ground-breaking project will give local CASA programs the tools they need to address social justice issues in their communities, promote data collection, and develop plans to address issues of disparity and disproportionality. The partnership with The GIANT Company will allow CASA to advance the existing work of its Diversity Equity and Inclusion committee and enable the state office to work individually and in groups with local CASA programs.
• Lastly, The GIANT Company is encouraging associates to spend Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in the community acting through service. The brand shared several volunteer opportunities, including those at Central Pennsylvania MLK Day of Service. Additionally, pins are available for team members to wear at work in support of racial equality.

Food Lion
Food Lion is proud to honor Martin Luther King, Jr. with a variety of events and activities across its 10-state footprint. Dr. King did not want people to just exist; he wanted them to feel like they belonged in the spaces, environments and in the world in which they lived. Food Lion sponsors events and works with partners who understand the importance of belonging.

Food Lion is a title sponsor for the City of Charlotte, North Carolina, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. National Holiday Celebration. The Diversity, Equity & Inclusion team will welcome guests in an outdoor celebration and participate in a wreath-laying ceremony.

Food Lion is the official sponsor of "MLK Day 2022: Community Dreams" at the Harvey B. Gantt Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. A local store manager will give a welcome and programming will focus on envisioning a future as a community and inspiring ways to work together. A day of live and virtual events includes art workshops, lectures and panels, in-depth film discussions and unique performances to celebrate the impact of Dr. King.

In a continued effort to nourish young adults in Food Lion communities, the brand is sponsoring an MLK National Holiday Oratorical Competition for high school juniors and seniors in Thomasville, North Carolina. This year's theme is "No More Business as Usual."

More events, volunteer opportunities and days of service are happening in partnership with groups such as the NAACP, Urban League and the YMCA.

Giant Food
Giant Food is a sponsor of the United Planning Organization's '38th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Breakfast' which will be held virtually on January 14th due to COVID-19. Normally the breakfast is held in person on MLK Day but this year is different. Proceeds from the event will fund college scholarships and support UPO's multifaceted programs that help DC residents lift themselves to become financially stable. Giant Food has been a major sponsor of this event for many years and will have 20 associates attend the virtual event.

Today on MLK Day, Giant Food associates will be volunteering at the Capital Area Food Bank (Washington, D.C. Food Bank) by helping box up food to be delivered to families who are struggling during the pandemic.

Giant Food will also have associates volunteer with Martha's Table, which is a non-profit organization that is one of Giant Food's close partners in the fight against hunger. It supports strong children, strong families, and strong communities by increasing access to quality education, health and wellness, and family resources, specifically in Wards 7 and 8. Wards 7 and 8 are two districts in Washington D.C. that have the highest rates of poverty, obesity, and chronic disease. Accessibility to healthy food is very difficult in both wards due to limited grocery store options.

The Giant Food associates will volunteer with Martha's Table at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Peace Walk which is held annually on the federal MLK holiday. The Peace Walk is coordinated by the Coalition for Peace, a group of individuals and non-profits dedicated to peace and positivity for the Washington DC metropolitan communities. Over a thousand 'Peace Walkers' join annually in the two-mile walk along MLK Ave in Southeast DC.

Stop & Shop
Chairs and Executive Sponsors from all six Stop & Shop Associate Resource Groups came together to honor Martin Luther King Jr's legacy last week. The associates recorded audio notes on the values and principles of Dr. King and other prominent Black leaders. The audio notes were shared with girls aged 12-27 at ACEDONE. Boston's African Community Economic Development of New England (ACEDONE) is a non-profit organization that partners with families to help African refugees and immigrants. ACEDONE is on a mission to help African refugees and immigrants develop a self-sufficient and vital community by providing the youth with education and life experiences to help them thrive. ACEDONE joins Dr. King in envisioning a "Beloved Community" where there are no educational or economic injustices.

Additionally, Stop & Shop's Multicultural ARG gathered at The Dimock Center, to show care and kindness to the community through a food distribution event. ARG members filled 400 bags with grocery staples and fresh produce, then distributed the bags to patients and families in need. To further drive the importance of the holiday, Stop & Shop invited all associates to learn more about the Beloved Community that Dr. King envisioned by sharing resources from The King Center.

Hannaford
Hannaford is committed to the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his work to impact social justice, on MLK Day and every day. In a message to all associates, President Mike Vail invoked the words of Dr. King to reinforce the company's values: "As Dr. King noted in his "I Have a Dream" speech, "we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead." At Hannaford, we are always committed to embracing diversity and advancing equity and inclusion, and we know that "whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly."

To that end, Hannaford is excited about a broad range of opportunities to build awareness of social justice, diversity and inclusion in February with robust plans to mark Black History Month, led by the company's Mosaic BRG.

And, just over the past year, Hannaford has continued its community support and strengthened its collaborations and partnerships, notably (but not limited to):

• A $150,000 donation to the New England NAACP Conference is supporting an initiative that will help black students significantly close the gap in educational outcomes in public elementary and secondary schools;
• A $50,000 donation to the New York NAACP Conference. It's focused on supportinga safe learning environment at schools (enhancing COVID-19 protocols, promoting vaccination, distributing masks) and for the purchase of Chrome books that enable distance learning;
• A $100,000 donation to the University of Southern Maine provides scholarships to 12 students who were not eligible for state and federal funds - primarily asylum seekers and Dreamers (DACA). Many of these students are ineligible to work because of their immigration status.
• A $100,000 donation to the University of Albany has established the Hannaford Supermarkets Scholarship for Excellence and the Hannaford Supermarkets Equal Opportunity Scholarships, helping eight diverse students, particularly those who are from lower-income families, afford college tuition, housing, books, and other related expenses.
• And a $75,000 donation to the University of New England launched the Hannaford Pharmacy Diversity Scholarship, which will be awarded to diverse students enrolled in the School of Pharmacy, with a preference for those in the Advanced Standing Track (AST) for Foreign-Trained Pharmacists.
  

Peapod Digital Labs
PDL is proud to honor Martin Luther King, Jr. by having Deanna Morgan, PDL diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging Manager, share her reflection about visiting the monument and her stepfather, Paul Brown, who saw Dr. King give his "I have a dream" speech in person when he was 18 years old.

In the reflection, Deanna mentions: "He [Deanna's stepfather] told me he was 18 years old and the only person from his church in Pennsylvania that signed up to take the bus up to Washington. He believes many of the church members were expecting there to be violence and did not want to get hurt. Violence had become so common at King's rallies, he said. When my stepfather arrived at Lincoln Memorial, he said a peaceful march was already in progress, and he watched as marchers of all races, though predominantly African American, approached the monument with signs in their hands promoting peace.

He told me after eating a bagged lunch and taking in the scenery, a minister began to speak who eventually introduced Dr. King. Then, King began to speak and immediately my stepfather felt as though something really special was happening. He describes it as 'electrifying'. He told me when he had returned home, he was still in disbelief that he had witnessed such a historical event in person and told his entire family about it."