The Walmart Foundation State Giving Program has donated $50,000 to the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia, benefiting the Foodbank’s Mobile Pantry Program.

The funding will expand the reach and impact of the program in fiscal year 2013 by increasing distributions to five times per week. The grant has enabled the Foodbank to hire a full-time coordinator to manage the program and to acquire enough food to distribute via Mobile Pantry on a daily basis.

The Mobile Pantry Program provides nutritious food and grocery items to people who are hungry and have either limited or no access to Foodbank Partner Agencies. The program eliminates barriers of availability and transportation by serving men, women and children in these areas at no cost.

“We are very grateful for the Walmart Foundation’s continued support in fighting hunger in our community,” said Joanne Batson, CEO of the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia. “With this substantial donation, the Mobile Pantry Program can continue to help our region’s underserved communities.”

Since 1981, the Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia has been providing food for hungry people throughout Southeastern Virginia. The Foodbank has distributed more than 237 million pounds of food, equating to more than 197 million meals throughout its 4,745 square-mile service area, which includes Norfolk, Portsmouth, Chesapeake, Suffolk, Franklin and Virginia Beach, as well as the counties of Southampton, Northampton, Sussex, Isle of Wight and Accomack.