Fred Meyer customers donated $3,676.63 to the Tahoma School District by dropping their change in the coin boxes located at the Fred Meyer check stands. The Tahoma School District will receive the check this week. In 130 Fred Meyer stores in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington, a total of $367,382.05 in change was donated to local schools in an eight-month period. Throughout the entire state, Fred Meyer customers raised $139,421.02.

Fred Meyer began collecting donations for school districts in June 2009 and continued through February 2010, with the exception of two weeks in January when the coin boxes were temporarily earmarked for the American Red Cross Haiti Disaster Relief Fund, raising more than $70,000 for that organization.

Fred Meyer has had coin boxes at its check stands for more than 10 years, and the money collected in those coin boxes are distributed through the company’s corporate foundation, The Fred Meyer Fund. June 2009 represented the first time the fund called out a specific organization on the coin boxes, letting customers know exactly where their donated change would be going. From February 2010 to mid-May, the coin box money was directed to local food banks. The final tally for food banks is not yet available, but is expected to be at least $130,000 companywide. From May 23 through August 14, coin box money will go to Operation Homefront, supporting troops and their families in Idaho, Oregon and Washington.