$150,000+ Food City donation pushes Buchanan 2022 Disaster Fund over $500,000

Vansant, VA (August 15, 2022) – When Food City President and CEO Steve Smith presented a check for $153,500 to aid victims of the July 2022 Buchanan County floods, he pushed the United Way of Southwest Virginia's Buchanan County 2022 Disaster Relief Fund collections over the $500,000 mark. Food City teamed up with United Way of Southwest Virginia, WCYB-TV, and WJHL-TV to host a cash register fundraising campaign to benefit flood relief efforts. The supermarket retailer pledged a $10,000 contribution to kick off the drive, in addition to donating more than $250,000 in products. The cash register campaign ran from July 16-22.

"We really wanted to step up and do what we could to help people get back on their feet as quickly as they could and give them the support and resources that they needed with the help of our customers, our dedicated team and our vendor partners," Smith said.

"Our friends at United Way of Southwest Virginia have been deemed the fiscal agent for the long-term recovery effort here in Buchanan County," Smith said. "It's my pleasure to present this check for $153,534.13 to United Way of Southwest Virginia."

Travis Staton, president and CEO of United Way of Southwest Virginia, thanked Smith, Food CIty's customers, and team members. "These crucial funds will allow us to help the families and individuals that were impacted by the flooding a month ago," Staton said. "All of these funds will stay local to help families in their own recovery process, whether it's rebuilding or repairing to ultimately get their lives back on track and get back into their homes."

One-hundred percent of the funds will benefit the citizens of Buchanan County through a fund being administered by a long-term recovery group made up mostly of Buchanan countians. "A large part of what we do is to convene local stakeholders that can help us proceed and move forward," Staton said. "The long-term recovery group members work in case management, volunteer coordination, donations management - there are a lot of moving parts in this effort, and we want to thank the members of that team."

Tim Hess of the Buchanan County Board of Supervisors said, "We appreciate everything that United Way of Southwest Virginia has done. They've been a big help during the Hurley flood, now during the Whitewood flood, they are again. And Steve Smith and Food City have gone above and beyond."

"It's a process," Hess said, "but we will get back to where we were."

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Headquartered in Abingdon, Virginia, K-VA-T Food Stores (Food City’s parent company) operates 139 retail outlets throughout southeast Kentucky, southwest Virginia, east Tennessee, north Georgia, and Alabama.

United Way of Southwest Virginia fights for the health, education and financial stability of every person in Southwest Virginia because they are the building blocks for a good quality of life. Through an initiative-based cradle-to-career approach, United Way of Southwest Virginia is creating sustainable solutions to address the challenges facing tomorrow’s workforce. United Way convenes cross-sector partners to make an impact on the most complex problems in our region. Through collaboration with government, business, nonprofit and individuals, United Way innovates for positive, lasting social change. With a footprint that covers nearly 20% of the state of Virginia, United Way of Southwest Virginia programs and initiatives serve the counties of Bland, Buchanan, Carroll, Dickenson, Floyd, Giles, Grayson, Lee, Montgomery, Pulaski, Russell, Scott, Smyth, Tazewell, Washington, Wise, and Wythe, and the cities of Bristol, Galax, Norton, and Radford.