MARLBOROUGH, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 19, 2025--
BJ’s Wholesale Club (NYSE: BJ) announced today that it is donating $1.25 million to help reduce hunger, starting with grants in the company’s home state of Massachusetts.
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From new trucks to refrigeration units to renovations, the funds will help food banks and pantries increase their capacity to meet growing need. The grants, given by BJ’s Charitable Foundation, will be used across the company’s footprint.
“BJ’s Wholesale Club is driven by a powerful purpose: taking care of the families who depend on us,” said Bob Eddy, Chairman and CEO, BJ’s Wholesale Club. “For over 40 years, BJ’s has made a positive difference in all the communities where we live and work. Living our purpose has always started right here in Massachusetts.”
The funds will enable Franklin Food Pantry in Franklin, Mass. to purchase a new refrigerated truck and two commercial cooling units. Franklin Food Pantry serves nearly 25,000 people annually and saw a 38% increase in demand for hunger relief services from 2023 to 2024 – with the demand continuing to grow in the current program year.
“The generous support from BJ’s Wholesale Club is invaluable. With these new resources we’re able to improve efficiency and serve more community members,” said Tina Powderly, Executive Director of Franklin Food Pantry. “We’re truly grateful for our ongoing partnership as we work together to nourish our neighbors.”
Additional donations in Massachusetts will support community café renovations at Pearl Street Cupboard and Café in Framingham, the purchase of two commercial refrigerators at Marlborough Community Cupboard and a new box truck for El Buen Samaritano in Worcester. Combined, these organizations serve over 100,000 local residents each year.
According to Feeding America, 47 million people in the United States, including 1 in 5 children, are food insecure – the highest rate in 10 years. Through these capacity-building grants, BJ’s Charitable Foundation continues its long-time partnership with Feeding America. For over 15 years, the partnership has provided more than 155 million meals for those in need.
“For more than 15 years, BJ’s Wholesale Club has been a partner in the movement to end hunger in our communities,” said Lauren Biedron, Senior Vice President of Corporate Partnerships from Feeding America. “Our relationship with BJ's is critical to meeting the increasing demand many local food banks and pantries face as millions of people turn to them for vital support. We are grateful for their generous financial support and donations of produce, meat and dairy products to ensure that everyone has access to the food and resources they need to thrive.”
Additional capacity-building grants will go to:
BJ’s has a longstanding commitment to the communities where its members live and work. Established in 2004, the BJ’s Charitable Foundation provides essential needs to families through local and national non-profit partnerships. The Foundation focuses its giving efforts on three main pillars: hunger relief, education and health and wellness.
About BJ's Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc.
BJ’s Wholesale Club Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: BJ) is a leading operator of membership warehouse clubs focused on delivering significant value to its members and serving a shared purpose: “We take care of the families who depend on us.” The company provides a wide assortment of fresh foods, produce, a full-service deli, fresh bakery, household essentials, various exclusive offerings, gas and more to deliver unbeatable value to smart-saving families. Headquartered in Marlborough, Massachusetts, the company pioneered the warehouse club model in New England in 1984 and currently operates 255 clubs and 190 BJ's Gas ® locations in 21 states. For more information, please visit us at www.BJs.com or on Facebook, or Instagram.
BJ’s Wholesale Club team members volunteer at Franklin Food Pantry on June 4, 2025
BJ’s Wholesale Club team members and Franklin Food Pantry staff at a volunteer day on June 4, 2025
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.
Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.
Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”
Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”
Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.
“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”
He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”
Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.
More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.
With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.
Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.
In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.
Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”
Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.
“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.
The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.
The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.
Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.
In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)
In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)
