SALISBURY — As the college basketball season opens, the Food Lion Feeds Score to Give More program will bring together 50 college basketball programs, including 14 women’s teams.

Salisbury-based Catawba and Livingstone Colleges are both participating.

Through this collaboration, Food Lion Feeds will help provide 100 meals (up to 30,000 meals per team) for every free throw made. This innovative partnership benefits each school’s campus food pantry or the Feeding America partner food bank where each college is located. It also raises awareness about the fight against hunger and helps feed neighbors. Since 2019, Food Lion Feeds has donated more than 4.9 million meals through the combination of regular season and tournament free throws made by players. Food Lion Feeds was founded in 2014 by Food Lion to combat food insecurity in the cities it serves.

“At Food Lion, we care about the towns we serve because we know our neighbors, including students, count on us every day,” said Kevin Durkee, Food Lion Feeds Manager. “The fight against hunger is an absolute priority. By supporting our college and food bank partners through this program, we are increasing their access to nutritious food and preparing them for success in life.

The Score to Give More campaign is one of many efforts Food Lion Feeds is leading in partnership with college campuses. In addition to this collegial effort, Food Lion Feeds also partners with universities for its Bag to give back campaign, providing 1,000 meals (up to 30,000 meals per school) for every quarterback sack made by the participating institution.

Through Food Lion feeds, Food Lion helped provide more than 1.2 billion meal to individuals and families since 2014 and has committed to donating 1.5 billion meal by 2025. For more information on Food Lion Feeds’ commitment to eradicating hunger, visit food lion.com/flux.