ABINGDON, Va. — In the wake of the devastation caused by the tornadoes in Middle Tennessee, Food City teamed up with WCYB, WVLT and WTVC to host a fundraising campaign to benefit relief efforts.

The initiative included all Virginia, Tennessee, and Georgia Food City locations. Customers wishing to provide assistance were given the opportunity to make a monetary donation at the checkouts.    

“The lives of many of our friends and neighbors in Middle Tennessee have been devastated by these tornadoes. We wanted to do everything possible to provide assistance during this critical time,” said Steven C. Smith, Food City president and chief executive officer.

Food City kicked off the drive with a $10,000 contribution. The 6-day fundraising effort raised an astounding $381,261. One hundred percent of the funds raised benefit the Cookeville-Putnam County Tornado Relief Fund.

“Our customers, associates and business partners have always stepped up in times of crisis, but when we saw the magnitude of support for this fundraising effort, our entire team was speechless,” said Smith.

Earlier today, Food City presented a check totaling $391,261 to community representatives.

“We would like to thank your loyal customers, dedicated associates and vendor partners for their amazing generosity and the outpouring of support for the tens of thousands of our friends and neighbors in need in Middle Tennessee. Our media partners, WCYB, WVLT and WTVC, did a fantastic job sharing the message and we just simply can’t say enough about the tremendous response from the entire region,” said Smith.

Headquartered in Abingdon, Va., K-VA-T Food Stores (Food City’s parent company) operates 132 retail outlets throughout southeast Kentucky, southwest Virginia, east Tennessee, Chattanooga and north Georgia. For more information on this and other Food City initiatives, visit their website at www.foodcity.com.