SALISBURY ó In honor of Veterans Day on Friday, Food Lion will offer a 10 percent discount to active and retired military personnel.
To receive the discount, active military, reservists and veterans should request the discount at check-out along with their MVP card. Harveys and Reidís stores, which come under the Food Lion umbrella, also will offer the 10 percent discount Friday.
Food Lion is based in Salisbury.
ěWe proudly support the men and women who have served our country,î Cathy Green Burns, president of Food Lion, said in a press release. ěOn this day when Americans will pay tribute to those who protect the freedoms we enjoy every day, we wanted to take meaningful action by giving back to our associates and customers who have courageously defended our country and made many sacrifices through their military service.î
In addition to the 10 percent discount for active military and veterans, 1,283 Food Lion, Harveys and Reidís stores, along with the companyís corporate offices, distribution and transportation centers, will simultaneously show support Friday for the Guard and Reserve.
At 11 a.m. on Nov. 11, representatives from each store will sign the U.S. Department of Defense Employer Support for the Guard and Reserveís Statement of Support.
Itís the largest, one-time signing of Statement of Support, and allows Food Lion to acknowledge the companyís commitment to all associates who serve in the Guard and Reserve, according to a press release.
The company is also making a $134,000 donation Friday to the Wounded Warrior Project, a non-profit organization with the single mission to honor and empower our wounded heroes.
Food Lion, Harveys and Reidís have been long-standing supporters of military associates and customers. The companies support military associates by providing numerous benefits policies, adopting colleague families who have been called into active duty, donating food and volunteering during community military events, and establishing a Veterans and Military Business Resource Group.
In 2010, Food Lion was honored with the Department of Defenseís highest honor for employers, the ESGRís Freedom Award, for its programs and services for military associates.
Food Lion, a subsidiary of Delhaize America, operates more than 1,100 supermarkets. Harveys is an affiliate of Delhaize America with 71 stores in Georgia, Florida and South Carolina. Reidís is a subsidiary of Delhaize America and operates 11 stores in South Carolina.
Today for employees only, Food Lion will host a variety of Veterans Day-related activities, including a Veterans and Military Education and Awareness Luncheon where the company will present the $134,000 donation to the Wounded Warrior Project.
Sergeant First Class Hugh Conlon IV of the Wounded Warrior Project will deliver the keynote address during the luncheon.
Conlon spent 20 years in the U.S. Army as a combat medic. He is a veteran of several deployments, including Honduras, Panama, Desert Shield, Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom, and he has been involved in more than 350 combat missions and has trained more than 150,000 U.S. Army Reserve and National Guard soldiers.
Conlon joined the Army in May 1987 and deployed to Baghdad in 2006 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Through more than 350 combat missions, Conlon provided, coordinated and directed medical support in hazardous urban environment, without a single U.S. military loss of life.
In addition, throughout his career, he trained more than 150,000 U.S. Army Reserve and National Guard soldiers at various bases, during the months leading up to and during 2003-2005 resulting in improved unit readiness ratings.
He retired from the Army in June 2007 and subsequently received seven separate orthopedic diagnoses, nine body system diagnoses, a special compensation diagnosis and one mental health diagnosis during his Veterans Administration claims exams.
He commutes 45 miles to the nearest VA facility for primary care needs, and when necessary, from Charlotte to Durham for specialty clinic appointments.
Conlon pursued a degree in political science from Augusta State University, and in 2008 he served as a liaison for injured soldiers and their families for the U.S. Army Wounded Warrior Program.