Wal-Mart Asks Workers To Donate Food To Its Needy Employees

The group Making Change At Wal-Mart posted a photo of the food drive to its Facebook page on Thursday.

The photo shows a cardboard bin with a sign attached that reads: "Let's succeed by donating to employees in need!!! Thanks for your support!" Another sign reads: "3430 canned food drive!" The number "3430" refers to the supercenter store on Northeast 23rd Street in Oklahoma City.

The photo was taken by a Wal-Mart employee who wishes to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation, according to the labor group, which has been pressuring Wal-Mart to raise its wages.

A manager at the store directed Business Insider to Wal-Mart's corporate office for questions regarding the food drive.

Wal-Mart faced widespread backlash last year when it was reported that a store in Cleveland was holding a similar food drive to help employees pay for Thanksgiving dinner. Critics argued that the company's wages are too low if its employees need help paying for food.

Wal-Mart spokesman Kory Lundberg told Business Insider last year that the food drives have been going on for several years.

"This store has been doing this for several years and [it] is for associates that have faced an extreme hardship recently," Lundberg said, referring to the Cleveland food drive.

In a subsequent email to reporters, the company said, "We're proud of the pay and benefits at Walmart, but this issue has nothing to do with how much we pay our associates. This story is simply about people being good neighbors, taking care of each other store by store, associate by associate."

The average wage for Wal-Mart's full and part-time employees is $11.83, according to the company.