Oakland, CA -- (SPW) --

Proudly family-owned, Raley's Markets has a long history of helping its local communities through a wide range of programs, from afterschool food literacy classes to local farmer initiatives. Now, just in time for the holiday season, the grocery store presents a reminder that the best gifts are the ones that help others. Demonstrating its commitment to giving back through its non-profit, Food For Families, Raley’s tapped creative agency Funworks for a new video campaign brimming with heart and compassion, highlighting what it means to donate to Food For Families and how the dollars help local neighbors in need. 

Shot by Little Moving Pictures directors Justin Plummer and Martin Strauss, the video follows the lives of two families – one marked by hardship and sacrifice and the other more fortunate. As they go about their daily routines, the struggling children do their best to get by with little food, until their mother returns home with a fresh box of groceries from a local food bank, courtesy of the fortunate family’s donation at a Raley’s store. When the story ends, the young sons of each family are revealed as friends, unknowingly bonded by the generosity of neighbors helping neighbors. Filmed from the children’s point-of-view with soft lighting and delicate compositions, the emotional spot embodies the spirit of giving while bringing awareness to this worthy cause. 

“We want our customers to know that giving to Food For Families has a direct impact in our communities,” explains Deirdre Zimmermann, Chief Customer Experience Officer, Raley’s. “100% of donations fund food at a reduced rate to local food banks without any of the traditional administrative costs associated with nonprofits. This video campaign helps shine a light on those suffering from food insecurity and asks our customers to help.”

Food For Families is Raley’s non-profit arm that works with local food banks to provide fresh and healthy food to local families in need, donating millions of pounds of food to food banks each year. Through the charity, customers’ donations go directly to their community, oftentimes helping their fellow neighbors, strengthening the community and bringing neighborhoods closer together. And, Raley’s absorbs all administrative costs to maximize each donation. 

Like many Funworks projects, the spot was conceptualized in a Funworkshop, the agency’s improv-inspired process that champions open conversation and collaboration toward quickly generating engaging concepts, strategies and content. Once the workshop began, conversations quickly turned to the idea of community and what it means to help each other. “With Raley’s Food For Families, we realized that you're not just donating to some company that is far away or people that you don't know,” explains Funworks CCO Craig Mangan. “These are issues that are unfortunately going on in everyone’s communities, so charity programs become about affecting a neighbor that you otherwise might never know is struggling. It became clear that this sentiment needed to be at the center of the narrative if we wanted to bring authenticity to the story we were trying to tell.” 

Unlike some of their past comedic workshops, the Food For Families campaign used comedy, not as a punchline, but as a tool to open people up and have a more honest conversation. “Comedy really brings down barriers and creates trust with people,” continues Mangan. “It gets people to tap into their emotions so that they can highlight a universal truth or unearth something that really resonates.”

Playing in local theaters and online, the video helps Raley’s share the mission of Food For Families and asks the viewer to join the cause.

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