JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc. announced today that customers can help their neighbors affected by the 2008 hurricane season by simply donating at any neighborhood Winn-Dixie.

Winn-Dixie is implementing its “Neighbors Helping Neighbors” program in all of its 521 stores as a way to assist the American Red Cross, which has seen its Disaster Relief Fund depleted after an active year of disasters.

The Red Cross provided food, shelter, counseling and other assistance to the communities affected by the storms that battered Florida and the Gulf Coast during the past month. Similar efforts across the country have forced the Red Cross to launch a national drive to raise $100 million to keep the Disaster Relief Fund afloat.

Winn-Dixie customers will find “Neighbors Helping Neighbors” donation sheets available at all registers, where they can donate an amount between 50 cents and $500 directly to the American Red Cross. The cashier will scan the Neighbors Helping Neighbors donation sheet, which automatically adds the amount designated by the customer to the total bill.

“Our neighbors face a long and difficult recovery process, and we want to do everything we can to help them,” said Terry Grooms Derreberry, Winn-Dixie manager of corporate giving. “Our hearts go out to those who were impacted by these storms.”

The American Red Cross provides immediate response in more than 70,000 disasters each year through its Disaster Relief Fund. Disasters include fires, hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, and tornadoes. Contributions to the relief fund are used to provide food, shelter, counseling and other assistance to victims, as needed.