Author: sHq_LoGiNz

VolunTeeters will pack nearly 10,000 meal kits at local food banks throughout November

MATTHEWS, N.C., Nov. 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Harris Teeter associates are rolling up their sleeves this November to pack holiday meals for families facing food insecurity across the Southeast. As part of Harris Teeter’s annual Harvest Feast campaign, the company donates all the grocery items needed to create a complete holiday meal for families in need. In addition, Harris Teeter associates, also known as “VolunTeeters,” will participate in five meal bag packing events at partner food bank facilities to assemble the meal bags before distribution.  In total, the company will donate 9,500 meal bags, which will feed 38,000 people.

“Our associates are the heart of Harris Teeter, and their commitment to serving our communities extends far beyond the store aisles,” said Danna Robinson, director of corporate affairs and customer relations for Harris Teeter. “These bag packing events embody our belief that we’re truly ‘in food with love.’ Our VolunTeeters are proud to work alongside our food bank partners to help provide holiday meals for families who need them most.”

The bag packing events will take place at food banks serving communities from North Carolina to Washington, D.C., reflecting Harris Teeter’s commitment to hunger relief across its entire footprint:

• Nov. 6: Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina (Charlotte, N.C.)
• Nov. 10: Central & Eastern NC Food Bank (Raleigh, N.C.)
• Nov. 12: MANNA Food Bank (Asheville, N.C.)
• Nov. 17: Lowcountry Food Bank (Charleston, S.C.)
• Nov. 19: Capital Area Food Bank (Washington, D.C.)

Please note: The bag packing events are not a public distribution event; the meal bags will be distributed at a later date by the food bank. To inquire about the meals or additional food bank assistance, community members can reach out directly to their local food bank.

Each packing event will bring together Harris Teeter associates who live and work in these communities to assemble holiday meal bags that will be distributed to families in need through each food bank’s network of partner agencies.

Meal kits contain food for a family of four’s holiday, including turkey breast, stuffing, yams, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, green beans, rolls, and cake mix, plus a reusable Harris Teeter shopping bag. Harris Teeter is donating the meals in partnership with Cargill, Bruce’s Yams, McCormick, Idahoan Foods, Kraft, General Mills, Jiffy, King’s Hawaiian, and Ocean Spray.

In addition, Harris Teeter has launched its Harvest Feast Round Up campaign, which runs through Dec. 30. Customers can round up their transactions to the nearest whole dollar at checkout, with 100% of funds raised benefiting hunger relief partners in local communities.

Last year, Harris Teeter shoppers and associates donated more than $830,000 through the Harvest Feast Round Up campaign. Since 2005, the campaign has raised nearly $14 million in monetary donations for hunger relief. The company works with 19 food bank and pantry partners across its markets, ensuring that donations – whether monetary or food – stay in the communities where they are given.

In 2024, Harris Teeter donated 5.9 million meals to those in need through its Food Rescue program and partnerships with local food banks.

To learn more about Harris Teeter’s Harvest Feast Round Up campaign, click here.

About Harris Teeter 

For more than 60 years, Harris Teeter, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR), has enriched lives – one meal, one family, one associate and one community at a time. Headquartered in Matthews, North Carolina, Harris Teeter employs 36,000 valued associates across more than 250 stores and 60 fuel centers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, Maryland, Delaware, Florida, and the District of Columbia. 

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SOURCE Harris Teeter

UNITED NATIONS, N.Y., Nov. 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — The United Nations Global Compact, the International Organisation of Employers (IOE) and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) today convened a Private Sector Forum as part of the official programme of the Second World Summit for Social Development held in Doha, Qatar.

The Forum brought together more than 150 leaders from business, Government, international organizations and civil society to explore how the private sector can accelerate social development, promote equality and create decent work opportunities in a world being reshaped by global, economic, social and technological transformations. Participants discussed how companies can help build inclusive workplaces and ensure that workers of all ages and backgrounds benefit from reskilling and upskilling opportunities throughout their careers. The discussions also emphasized how governments can create enabling environments that foster innovation, strengthen competitiveness and deliver positive social outcomes.

“The challenges of our time—technological disruption, inequality and climate change—cannot be solved by any one actor alone,” said Tonilyn Lim, Chief of Programmes at the UN Global Compact. “Businesses have a vital role to play, not only by creating jobs but by embedding inclusion, equity and respect for human rights across their operations. When companies work hand in hand with governments and communities, we can transform markets into powerful engines for social progress.”

The Forum’s high-level panels explored how to build skills for the future of work, foster responsible business conduct, scale inclusive business models and mobilize sustainable finance to advance social development.

Keynote speakers included H.E. Ms. Annalena Baerbock, President of the United Nations General Assembly; H.E. Dr. Ali bin Saeed bin Samikh Al Marri, Minister of Labour of Qatar; H.E. Ms. Valérie Berset Bircher, State Secretary at the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs of Switzerland; H.E. Roxana Mînzatu, Executive Vice-President for Social Rights and Skills, Quality Jobs and Preparedness of the European Commission; and Mr. Gilbert Houngbo, Director-General of the International Labour Organization.

The event coincided with the release of a joint statement by the International Organisation of Employers (IOE) and the UN Global Compact, titled “Business as a Partner for Inclusive and Sustainable Social Development.” The statement welcomed the adoption of the Summit’s Political Declaration and reaffirmed the private sector’s vital role in achieving poverty eradication, full employment and social inclusion.

The statement highlights the importance of promoting decent and productive employment, supporting the progressive realization of living wages and fostering conditions for sustainable business growth. It also calls for strengthening education systems and digital inclusion to prepare people for technological change, while empowering enterprises—especially small and medium-sized ones—to contribute to social progress through responsible innovation and investment. Furthermore, it urges greater efforts to advance inclusive employment, gender equality and respect for human rights, ensuring that no one is left behind. Above all, it emphasizes the need for trust-based multilateral and public–private partnerships that deliver lasting social and economic benefits.

The statement concludes with a call to action for governments, employers, workers and civil society to engage the private sector as a full partner in designing and implementing social policies, fostering responsible business practices and mobilizing collaborative action across sectors.

“Sustainable enterprises are essential to achieving social justice and prosperity for all,” the joint statement affirms. “Together, we can harness the power and responsibility of business to build a future that leaves no one behind.”

Notes to Editors

About the UN Global Compact
The ambition of the UN Global Compact is to accelerate and scale the global collective impact of business by upholding the Ten Principles and delivering the SDGs through accountable companies and ecosystems that enable change. With more than 20,000 participating companies, 5 Regional Hubs, 66 Country Networks covering 85 countries and 9 Country Managers establishing Networks in 16 other countries, the UN Global Compact is the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative — one Global Compact uniting business for a better world. For more information, follow @globalcompact on social media and visit our website at unglobalcompact.org.

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SOURCE United Nations Global Compact

• The ballot measure was supported by national and local neurodegenerative disease organizations, including The Michael J. Fox Foundation (MJFF).
• MJFF led a weekslong Proposition 14 advocacy campaign to educate and turn out voters.

NEW YORK, Nov. 5, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — With over 68 percent of the vote, Texans have approved Proposition 14, authorizing a $3 billion state investment over the next decade to support brain health research, including Parkinson’s disease. This marks the largest state-level commitment to neurodegenerative disease research in U.S. history.

The funding will support the Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (DPRIT), created earlier this year through Texas Senate Bill 5. The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF) and Texas-based Parkinson’s advocates and organizations played a key role in expanding Senate Bill 5 to include Parkinson’s disease, ensuring that Parkinson’s research will be funded through DPRIT. Texans living with Parkinson’s testified in front of the state legislature to help secure bipartisan support for the bill and pave the way for voter approval.

“With the passage of Proposition 14, Texas is setting a national example for public investment in science to help deliver the breakthroughs people living with Parkinson’s urgently deserve,” said Dan Feehan, chief policy and government affairs officer at MJFF. “Other states and the federal government should look to Texas as a model for bold, forward-looking investment in public health.”

After Senate Bill 5 was signed into law, MJFF again partnered with local advocates and organizations to develop a robust “Yes on Proposition 14” campaign. The campaign aimed to educate voters about what a $3 billion investment in brain health research could achieve: new discoveries, treatments and hope for millions of people and families affected by brain diseases in Texas and beyond.

The number of Texans living with Parkinson’s disease has more than doubled in recent years. The financial cost is staggering, too: Parkinson’s costs Texas more than $3.6 billion every year.

DPRIT also aims to expand access to clinical trials and strengthen the state’s workforce dedicated to brain health. In addition to the promise of progress through research, the state hopes that this investment will bring startups and companies to Texas, leading to job creation and new economic activity. DPRIT is modeled after the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT), which voters approved an initial $3 billion to fund in 2007 and another $3 billion in 2019. According to the state, CPRIT has conducted nearly 375 clinical studies, attracted an additional $11.6 billion in non-state funding and brought 340 cancer researchers to Texas, among other achievements.

“As someone who lives with Parkinson’s and cares for loved ones who also face this disease, I’ve seen how powerful it is when our community comes together to push for change,” said María L. De León, MD, an East Texas resident, movement disorder specialist and member of MJFF’s Patient Council. “The passage of Proposition 14 proves that collective advocacy can bring hope, progress and the promise of a better future for families like mine at home in Texas and around the world.”

The Michael J. Fox Foundation extends its gratitude to Texas voters, the legislators who advanced Senate Bill 5 — including Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick and lead bill sponsors Senator Joan Huffman (R-17) and Representative Tom Craddick (R-82) — and the many local advocates and organizations who helped make this historic investment possible.

The state will now establish DPRIT, appoint a governing board, define research priorities and begin awarding grants. MJFF will continue working with our nationwide network of Parkinson’s policy advocates to secure state and federal funding for Parkinson’s research. Visit michaeljfox.org/advocacy to join us.

About The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF)

As the world’s largest nonprofit funder of Parkinson’s research, The Michael J. Fox Foundation is dedicated to accelerating a cure for Parkinson’s disease and improved therapies for those living with the condition today. The Foundation pursues its goals through an aggressively funded, highly targeted research program coupled with active global engagement of scientists, Parkinson’s patients, business leaders, clinical trial participants, donors and volunteers. In addition to funding $2.5 billion in research to date, the Foundation has fundamentally altered the trajectory of progress toward a cure. Operating at the hub of worldwide Parkinson’s research, the Foundation forges groundbreaking collaborations with industry leaders, academic scientists and government research funders; creates a robust open-access data set and biosample library to speed scientific breakthroughs and treatment with its landmark clinical study, PPMI; increases the flow of participants into Parkinson’s disease clinical trials with its online tool, Fox Trial Finder; promotes Parkinson’s awareness through high-profile advocacy, events and outreach; and coordinates the grassroots involvement of thousands of Team Fox members around the world. For more information, visit us at www.michaeljfox.org, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.

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SOURCE The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research