Retailers, Manufacturers Aid Earthquake Victims in Turkey
As the death toll of this week’s devastating earthquake in Turkey exceeds 21,000, retailers and CPGs in the United States are stepping in to provide relief.
Michigan-based SpartanNash announced that it is sending bottled water and diapers to the region via the nonprofit organization Convoy of Hope. "The destruction in Turkey and Syria is unimaginable, and we feel compelled to leverage supplies we have in stock to provide critical aid as fast as possible," said SpartanNash CEO Tony Sarsam. "Serving and creating solutions are embedded in our corporate identity, and we are grateful for the opportunity to help. We will continue to monitor the need in this area, and we once again invite our supplier community to join us in providing support."
[Read more: "SpartanNash Kicks Off Annual Special Olympics Campaign"]
Retail giant Amazon is leveraging its sources to provide much-needed supplies in the wake of the disaster. The company is donating food, blankets, tents and medications, with goods distributed from its warehouse in Istanbul, which just opened in September 2022. In a statement, the head of Amazon’s disaster relief program, Abe Diaz, declared, “This immediate delivery is just the beginning of Amazon’s response.”
In addition to product donations, Amazon pledged $500,000 in cash donations to relief groups including Red Crescent, the World Food Program and Save the Children.
Likewise, food and beverage manufacturers are ramping up assistance. The PepsiCo Foundation is supporting its team members in the region with shelter and food and donating $1.2 million to help provide supplies and meals to victims in the affected region.
Chobani’s founder and CEO Hamdi Ulukaya, who was born in Turkey, shared that he is donating $1 million to a relief fund created by Turkish Philanthropy Funds. “Our brothers and sisters in Turkey and region desperately need our help,” he tweeted, adding that he will match up to $1 million in additional donations to aid those impacted by the quake.
SpartanNash’s core businesses include distributing grocery products to independent and chain retailers, its corporate-owned retail stores, and U.S. military commissaries and exchanges, as well as fresh produce distribution and fresh food processing. No. 41 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2022 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America, the Grand Rapids, Mich.-based company serves customer locations in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, Europe, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Honduras, Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Djibouti, Korea and Japan. SpartanNash also operates 147 supermarkets and employs 17,500-plus associates. Seattle-based Amazon is No. 2 on The PG 100.
