SALISBURY, N.C. — Food Lion has remodeled 87 stores across Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.

“We’re excited to welcome our neighbors in these towns and cities into their fresh, new Food Lion,” said Food Lion president Meg Ham. “Our associates can’t wait to show customers their newly remodeled store and have them experience the expanded variety and assortment of new products and services. All these changes were made with our neighbors in mind so they can nourish their families affordably and make life a little easier.”

Among the changes customers will experience:

• Expanded variety and assortment across all departments, including more locally sourced items.

• More natural, gluten-free and organic items, including a larger selection of Nature’s Promise beef, pork, poultry, dairy, breakfast, and children’s food and other items. Nature’s Promise is a private brand featuring natural and organic products made with no artificial flavors, preservatives or synthetic colors.

• An expanded variety of local craft beer and limited reserve wines.

• A greater selection of easy and affordable meals for families and a wider variety of grab-and-go items and presliced deli meats and cheeses, which are sliced fresh daily and available for customers to pick up without waiting in line.

• An abundant selection of fresh produce and meat backed by Food Lion’s double-your-money-back guarantee.

• A more efficient checkout process.

• New signage and groupings of like products designed to make navigation easier.

By the end of this year, 23 of these remodeled stores will offer Food Lion To Go, Food Lion’s grocery pickup service. Home delivery is also available in selected areas, the retailer said.

Food Lion also celebrated the store remodels via its Food Lion Feeds hunger-relief initiative. The retailer donated $145,000 to local Feeding America member food bank partners serving these communities to help meet unprecedented demand.

In addition to the donations to the five food bank partners serving these communities, each of these 87 newly remodeled stores is making a one-time donation of $500 to a feeding agency nearby. Those agencies will also receive regular food donations through Food Lion’s food rescue program, through which every Food Lion store donates food safe for human consumption to a local feeding agency before the food spoils. This is in addition to ongoing support these local organizations have received from Food Lion Feeds through other product, monetary, equipment and volunteer donations.

Food Lion said that each of these 87 stores now recycles organic waste products as part of the retailer’s commitment to sustainability. Additionally, the stores have received new recycling containers, and associates have received additional training on sustainability efforts, all of which will ultimately lead to reduced waste being sent to area landfills.

Due to energy-efficient equipment, technologies and procedures, 73 of these stores have received the ENERGY STAR certification from the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy. Food Lion is the only retailer in the country to receive the ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year Award 20 consecutive years.