Giant Food Donates More than $1.2 Million to USO of Metropolitan Washington-Baltimore

USO of Metropolitan Washington-Baltimore announced this week the donation receipt of $1,208,846 from Giant Food, the leading greater Washington D.C. regional grocery chain.

For the fifth consecutive year, USO-Metro served as one of the main charity beneficiaries of the 2020 Giant National Capital Barbecue Battle which was a month-long virtual event due to the COVID-19 pandemic. USO-Metro was also the beneficiary of funds raised through in-store event promotions across Giant’s 163 stores from Memorial Day Weekend through June.

“USO-Metro is truly honored to have a partner like Giant Food supporting our service members year after year,” said Elaine Rogers, President and CEO of USO-Metro. “The Giant National Capital Barbecue Battle and Giant’s month long in-store campaign are one of our largest and most successful fundraisers of the year. Now, more than ever, funding like this makes all the difference in the world. Since the COVID-19 pandemic began back in March, USO-Metro has been able to continue offering programs and services to our active duty military and their families across the region, and partners like Giant Food along with Giant’s amazing customers make our mission possible during times like these.”

This year’s Giant National Capital Barbecue Battle Virtual Experience was one of the first virtual food festivals in the world and saw over 100,000 viewers from across the country. The website featured several cooking competitions, contests, giveaways, and live music.

“We are proud to be close partners with USO-Metro and to support military service members and their families,” said Ira Kress, President of Giant Food. “I’d like to thank the Giant store associates and our amazing customers across the region who all stood together in support of our local military to make this year’s in-store campaign such a tremendous success. I’m also delighted with the success of the Giant National Capital Barbecue Battle Virtual Experience as it brought the community together for a great cause while cheering on our barbecue legends and celebrating delicious food. We are already looking forward to next year.”

As part of its commitment to supporting the local community including military service members, Giant has donated over $3.5 million to USO-Metro to-date since 2016.