This year’s Be a Sweetheart campaign runs February 9^th & 10^th. All Mast Store locations will ask guests to open up their sweet hearts and help us make a sizeable donation to our food security partners. For each pound of candy purchased, Mast Store will donate a $1. Thus, we are encouraging guests to scoop up a traditional, sweet gift of candy for the sweethearts in their lives this Valentine’s Day and help us give back to our communities in heartwarming and meaningful ways.

We want our customers to know that their thoughtful gifts will in turn help us to give to the communities. Our donations will stretch to:

• Provide healthy snacks for Head Start participants,
• Stock the Market with fresh produce & bread to allow clients to shop for foods their families would like,
• Supply foods to encourage healthy eating - over 68% of the food distributed in 2016 is recognized by Feeding America as foods that focus on good health, like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, etc.,
• Rescue foods from restaurants and other businesses that would otherwise be discarded,
• Feed seniors who may never have had to worry about food until their spouse passed away,
• Nourish hungry veterans who are struggling to put enough food on their tables.

With our and your help, our food security partners can do amazing things, like turn a $1 donation into several meals, teach families in-need how to make healthy grocery choices even on a budget, and perhaps offer a hand-up that will change a life by providing work opportunities in the restaurant/catering industry to those in need.

But if you aren’t looking for sweets this holiday, you can still make a difference and help out by dropping your change in the collection jars available at each register or they can Round Up their purchases to the next dollar. Customers will have the opportunity to donate any amount of pocket change because even a small donation can make a big difference.

If you would like to know more about making a difference with our partners, you can drop by to talk with Mast Store partners or contact them anytime. Mast Store works closely with the following organizations: the Hunger and Health Coalition (Boone and Valle Crucis), MANNA FoodBank (Waynesville, Hendersonville, and Asheville), Loaves & Fishes (Greenville), Second Harvest Food Bank of East Tennessee (Knoxville), Harvest Hope (Columbia), and Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest North Carolina (Winston-Salem).