ASHEVILLE, N.C. -- (September 8, 2005) -- Sometimes even the helpers need a helping hand. This basic truth is why Ingles Markets, Incorporated (NASDAQ: IMKTA) has teamed up with Hearts With Hands to provide aid to the people of the Gulf Coast.
In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Hearts With Hands dispatched their entire fleet of supply-laden semis and trailers to the Gulf. However, more trucks were still needed to collect community donations and provide storage. Hearing of the need, Ingles stepped in with an offer of trucks and assistance.
Together, the charity and the supermarket chain have established a network of five collection points at Ingles stores across Buncombe County (see list below), with Ingles trucks on hand to collect and store the nonperishable donations until they are sent to the Gulf. An additional Ingles truck is located on the UNC-Asheville campus as a donation center.
In addition to its work with Hearts With Hands, Ingles has mobilized its stores across six states to provide local charitable organizations with a central location for distribution or donations. In Western North Carolina, Ingles stores are a donation point for MANNA Food Bank (in conjunction with Second Harvest). Yesterday, two Ingles trucks loaded with water pulled out of the supermarket chain's Asheville warehouse bound for Ocean City, Mississippi.
"It's at times like these when it's important that we realize that we're all in this together," commented Ingles' founder Robert P. Ingle.
For more information on Hearts With Hands, call (828) 667-1912, (800) 726-9185 or visit www.heartswithhands.org. Visit Ingles at www.ingles-market.com.
(Information on how to help in your community follows.)
What to donate:
The most needed items are canned food, snack food, drinks, paper products, baby food and baby goods, personal grooming supplies, pet supplies, tarps and books, especially children's books. Used clothing is being accepted but is not needed as much as these other supplies. Cash donations help pay the costs of getting the goods to the Gulf Coast.
For more information on how to help, call Hearts With Hands (828) 667-1912, (800) 726-9185 or visit www.heartswithhands.org.
Bring by your donations to one of these five community Ingles - Hearts With Hands drop off locations:
•Ingles, 7 Leicester Hwy, Asheville, NC
•Ingles, 915 Merrimon Ave., Asheville, NC
•Ingles, 2299 US Hwy 70, Swannanoa, NC
•Ingles, South Forest Shopping Center, Asheville, NC
•Ingles, 301 Long Shoals Rd., Arden, NC
Ingles Markets, Incorporated is a leading supermarket chain with operations in six southeastern states. Headquartered in Asheville, North Carolina, the Company operates 198 supermarkets. In conjunction with its supermarket operations, the Company also operates 74 neighborhood shopping centers, all but 17 of which contain an Ingles supermarket. The Company's Class A Common Stock is traded on The NASDAQ Stock Market's National Market under the symbol IMKTA. For more information about the Company, visit Ingles' website at www.ingles-markets.com.