The nation's largest hunger-relief
organization announces ambitious plan to establish new partnerships
with retailers, food manufacturers, farmers and other strategic
partners
CHICAGO, June 26,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Feeding America, the nation's
largest food rescue organization, is inviting the public to join
its Food Rescue Challenge to secure 5 billion pounds of food
rescued annually, an additional 1 billion pounds than is currently
recovered each year. The challenge will directly address heightened
levels of food insecurity across the U.S. and ensure wholesome food
is used to fill fridges, not landfills.
"It's time to double down. We find it wholly unacceptable that
in a nation that wastes increasing amounts of fresh, nutritious
food, people are experiencing food insecurity at near-record
rates," said Claire
Babineaux-Fontenot, CEO for Feeding America. "At a time when
it feels like so many things are outside our control, food rescue
does not need to be one of these things. In fact, we, as a nation,
have the power to do more than one good thing at a time."
With 44 million people, including more than 13 million children,
experiencing food insecurity in 2022, food banks are still
experiencing record levels of demand. In Feeding America's most
recent survey of food banks, 85% of responding food banks reported
seeing demand for food assistance increase or stay the same in
April compared to March 2024. Food
rescue – defined as the practice of collecting perfectly good,
wholesome food that would otherwise go to waste – provides one of
the most immediate opportunities to address this urgent need.
Feeding America's Food Rescue Challenge will inspire this work,
while creating an opportunity for partnerships with the food
industry, agricultural producers, lawmakers and other food rescue
groups focused on long-term solutions to ensure people facing
hunger have access to food and resources. To help catalyze the
challenge, Feeding America has established a new Food Rescue
Fund.
The fund's goal is to raise $50M
annually, to scale and establish new and deeper partnerships
between food manufacturers, retailers, farmers, other strategic
partners and the Feeding America network of more than 200 food
banks and 60,000 agency partners.
The funds will be used to support several keys areas of the
organization's work, including: increasing the availability of the
most-requested foods like fresh produce, protein and dairy;
expanding MealConnect, the organization's national food-sourcing
and sharing platform; helping the network of food banks and food
pantries develop plans for sourcing sustainable local products;
subsidizing freight for donated food; and expanding the ability to
rescue food donations from local grocery stores.
"As a national food rescue organization that touches tens of
millions of people in the U.S. annually, Feeding America has a
responsibility to spotlight this critical issue and contribute in
new and innovative ways," said Erika
Thiem, Chief Supply Chain Officer for Feeding America.
"Today, many organizations have joined the movement to end hunger,
and with that comes new opportunities to collaborate. Consider this
a call to action to help secure more food, right now, for people
facing hunger."
Guiding the work will be an advisory group that includes
longtime leaders in the Feeding America network – former Conagra
CEO and former Feeding America Board Chair Gary Rodkin, and Gwendolyn Sontheim, philanthropist and Feeding
San Diego founder and board chair.
The Food Rescue Fund has been founded with generous lead gifts
from General Mills, Starbucks and Gary and
Barbara Rodkin.
"We're proud to continue our more than 40-year legacy of
supporting Feeding America to alleviate hunger and ensure no good
food goes to waste," said Mary Jane
Melendez, chief sustainability and global impact officer at
General Mills. "No one company or organization can tackle this
challenge alone. It takes all of us coming together to create
lasting change."
"For the last 50 years and still today, Starbucks believes it is
our role and responsibility to contribute positively to the
communities we serve. We operate and invest in initiatives that
increase equitable access to nutritious food. Through our FoodShare
program we rescue Starbucks food from U.S. company-operated stores,
build food bank capacity and address food insecurity through
partnerships such as Feeding America to uplift communities. We are
proud to expand on our work with Feeding America in this united
mission," said Kelly Goodejohn, Starbucks chief social impact
officer.
The launch of the fund is Feeding America's next momentous step
that builds on the organization's first Food Rescue Convening in
December 2023, which brought together
nearly 40 CEOs and social impact executives from food industry
leaders including Walmart, Sam's Club, The Kroger Company,
Starbucks, Conagra Brands, General Mills and Food Lion.
Already, Feeding America works closely with retailers, food
manufacturers, foodservice and agri-companies to help divert nearly
4 billion pounds of excess food from landfills annually and route
it through the organization's network of food banks and agency
partners.
By continuing to innovate with supporters like Walmart, Feeding
America's largest food donor, and the Walmart Foundation's
transformational support of food banks and agency partners through
the Retail Agency Capacity grant program, Feeding America aspires
to raise the food rescue stakes to ensure everyone has access to
the food they need to thrive.
Media Contact
Emily James
ejames@feedingamerica.org
About Feeding America
Feeding America is committed to an America where no one is hungry.
We support tens of millions of people who experience food
insecurity to get the food and resources they say they need to
thrive as part of a nationwide network of food banks, statewide
food bank associations, food pantries and meal programs. We also
invest in innovative solutions to increase equitable access to
nutritious food, advocate for legislation that improves food
security and work to address factors that impact food security,
such as health, cost of living and employment.
We partner with people experiencing food insecurity,
policymakers, organizations, and supporters, united with them in a
movement to end hunger. Visit FeedingAmerica.org to learn more.
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SOURCE Feeding America