Giant-Landover Enters USO-Metro’s Circle of Stars

Giant Food LLC was named to USO of Metropolitan Washington’s (USO-Metro) 2011 Circle of Stars at Metropolitan Washington’s 8th Annual Stars & Stripes Casino Night, which took place Friday, Oct. 28 in Arlington, Va. The Circle of Stars, which debuted at Friday’s event, honors businesses that have provided the necessary funding to support USO-Metro’s mission to boost the morale of military service members and their families.

The annual fundraiser unites USO-Metro supporters, the business community, wounded heroes and local celebrities in a fun, Vegas-style atmosphere. In March, Giant teamed with USO-Metro to support military families across the area. Customers could donate $1, $3, or $5 at the register, as well as nonperishable food items in bins in front of all Giant stores, to help support USO-Metro programs and to establish a food pantry at Fort Belvoir, Va. Giant contributed $108,000, nearly 10,000 pounds of food and hundreds of handmade cards for the troops as a result of the month-long in-store campaign.

“This past year, USO-Metro touched the lives of more than 500,000 service members and their families,” said Elaine Rogers, president of the USO of Metropolitan Washington. “We couldn’t provide the broad range of programs we deliver without the generous and incredible support of Giant and our other corporate donors.”

Giant Food LLC, an Ahold USA division based in Landover, Md., operates 173 supermarkets in Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, and the District of Columbia, and employs about 22,000 associates.