GREENVILLE, Miss., Nov. 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Mars Food, The MolinaCares Accord, in collaboration with Molina Healthcare of Mississippi and Kroger Delta Division continued their efforts to broaden access to fresh, healthy foods across the Mississippi Delta region. The coalition teamed up to purchase a refrigerated delivery truck for Hearty Helpings Food Pantry & Soup Kitchen – one of the largest food pantries in Washington County – to enable the organization to triple its distribution of healthy foods to people across the region.

"We are so excited to have a refrigerated truck of our own to help transport healthy foods to Greenville and Washington County residents in need.  Previously, we had to rent a truck each time we needed to transport a large amount of food, so we're thrilled to no longer have to incur that expense, as well as the ability to get healthy foods faster to area residents," said Pandora Redmond, Executive Director of Hearty Helpings Food Pantry

The funds used to purchase the truck is part of a larger community initiative launched earlier this year by Mars Food, MolinaCares, and the Kroger Delta Division to expand area-residents' access to healthy food. Approximately 70,000 healthy meals* will be donated through this coalition per year to area food banks, including Hearty Helpings.

In addition to presenting the Hearty Helpings truck donation, the coalition also hosted a mobile vaccination clinic and held an education session at the Boys & Girls Club of Washington County to teach Greenville area students about the importance of oral health and limiting their sugar intake.

"It is amazing to see this initiative come to life as we continue to offer everyone a seat at the table by providing access to nutritious meals that we all deserve," said Denis Yarotskiy, regional president, Mars Food North America. "While we have partnered with Hearty Helpings Food Pantry & Soup Kitchen for many years, we are particularly proud of our efforts over the past year to understand the needs of Greenville residents and how we could help further the pantry's mission to feed and nurture the Greenville community. We're excited about steps we've made with MolinaCares and Kroger and look forward to the opportunity to do even more in the future in service of our purpose."

"This partnership combines the strength of these three great companies to serve this unique and treasured community—a community that they've invested in, lived in, and care deeply about," said Bridget Galatas, plan president of Molina Healthcare of Mississippi. "I'm humbled to be a small part of the caring and thoughtful teams that made this possible."

"Through Kroger's Zero Hunger Zero Waste initiative, our goal is to end hunger in the communities we serve and end waste in our stores," said Victor Smith, president, Kroger Delta Division. "Kroger is proud to support the Greenville, Mississippi community by helping provide access to fresh food. We believe in our partners at Hearty Helpings Food Pantry and we are excited to do our part in helping them feed the Greenville community." 

About Mars Food
Mars Food is a fast-growing dinnertime food business, making tastier, healthier, easier meals that bring the world to the dinner table. With North American headquarters in Chicago, Ill. and global headquarters in London, Mars Food US's portfolio of leading brands includes: Ben's Original™, Seeds of Change™, and Tasty Bite®.  Our purpose –Better Food Today. A Better World Tomorrow. –drives our business to be a leader in health & wellbeing and sustainability. Mars Food is a segment of Mars, Incorporated. For more information about the Ben's Original™ Brand and its purpose initiatives, visit  https://www.bensoriginal.com/ or https://www.mars.com/.

About The MolinaCares Accord                                              
Established by Molina Healthcare, Inc., The MolinaCares Accord oversees a community investment platform created to improve the health and well-being of disadvantaged populations by funding meaningful, measurable, and innovative programs and solutions that improve health, life, and living in local communities. The MolinaCares Accord funds such measures through The Molina Healthcare Charitable Foundation, a 501(c)(3) established in 2020 by Molina Healthcare, Inc.

About Molina Healthcare of Mississippi
Molina Healthcare of Mississippi has been providing government-funded, quality health care since 2018. The Company serves members through Medicaid (Mississippi Coordinated Access Network/MississippiCAN and Children's Health Insurance Plan/CHIP) and Marketplace. Through its locally operated health plans, Molina Healthcare, Inc., a FORTUNE 500 company, served approximately 4.8 million members as of September 30, 2021. For more information about Molina Healthcare of Mississippi, visit MolinaHealthcare.com.

*According to the USDA, 1.2 pounds is equivalent to one meal.

SOURCE Mars Food