Walmart associates, Second Harvest partner to fight hidden hunger in Middle Tennessee

Eighty Walmart associates from the Nashville area staged a volunteer "takeover" at Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee, working across the food bank's operations to help neighbors who face food insecurity that often "hides in plain sight." Associates built backpacks for students and schools, sorted boxes and assembled product in chilled areas, among other tasks, in a hands-on effort company leaders say strengthens ties between stores and the communities they serve.

Wade Hunt, Walmart market manager for Nashville, framed the work as an obligation rooted in local presence. "When I think about why we should get involved, it’s [because it’s] the community that we live in. It’s the community that our business and stores are in, so we should be involved in our community," Hunt said. Hunt also serves on the Board of Directors for Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee, giving Walmart leadership a formal role in the partnership beyond volunteer shifts.

Community partners welcomed the engagement. "Having partners like Walmart that are willing to engage the community in this conversation and drive awareness…it takes all of us to get this done every day," Edwards said. Second Harvest has drawn regular volunteer support from many Nashville-area associates, and the takeover showcased the scale and variety of tasks that retail employees can support off the sales floor.

The Nashville effort ties into a broader Walmart and Sam’s Club initiative, Fight Hunger. Spark Change., which invites customers, members and suppliers to participate in local hunger relief. Kathleen McLaughlin, executive vice president and chief sustainability officer at Walmart and president of the Walmart Foundation, emphasized the campaign's long-running scope: "Hunger knows no boundaries and affects all of our communities. For the ninth year, Walmart and Sam’s Club invites our customers, members and suppliers to join us in the fight against hunger and help neighbors in need by participating in the Fight Hunger. Spark Change. campaign," she said. "Together, we can help communities live better by expanding access to healthy, nutritious food."

Campaign materials note significant outcomes in other markets: Walmart and partners have helped secure nearly 4,000,000 meals for the Houston Food Bank in the past three years and have reported that the campaign produced nearly 3.8 million meals during the COVID-19 pandemic while raising over $1.2 million in that same roughly three-year span. Those figures illustrate the scale of corporate-backed efforts and provide context for local volunteer actions that convert donations and staff time into direct service.

For associates, these volunteer programs offer more than community service hours. They provide on-the-ground experience handling logistics similar to store operations - inventory handling, chilled-product procedures and packing - and create internal leadership and morale benefits when employees volunteer together. For managers like Wade Hunt, board service and organized takeovers reinforce a two-way relationship in which stores and food banks share operational know-how and local networks.

Hunger can be hidden in busy neighborhoods and full grocery aisles. Local partnerships such as the one between Walmart associates and Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee make that need visible and actionable, and the national Fight Hunger. Spark Change. campaign continues to marshal company resources and community participation to expand responses. For associates and local leaders, the takeaway is clear: hands-on volunteering and sustained partnerships are practical ways retailers can help neighbors eat better while strengthening workplace-community ties.