The Walt Disney Company has made a contribution to Feeding America® to support efforts to source more produce and increase the amount of nutritious meals provided to children and families who need it most.
The funds will be distributed to 30 Feeding America member food banks throughout the U.S. operating produce programs to improve access to nutritious foods. Last year, Feeding America secured more than 1.8 billion pounds of fruits and vegetables and plans to provide even more nourishing produce to families in need this year.
"We know that access to nutritious food is essential for a healthy lifestyle. Yet many people across the country may not know where they will find their next meal and the pandemic further exacerbates this issue," said Blake Thompson, Chief Supply Chain Officer at Feeding America. "We are grateful for Disney's continued support of Feeding America programs that help to provide much-needed produce to our neighbors in need."
Feeding America is a network of 200 food banks and 60,000 food pantries and meal programs that provides food assistance to more than 40 million people annually. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Feeding America estimates that more than 50 million people could be food insecure in the United States this year, including 17 million children.
In a unique look behind the scenes, ABC's 'Localish' documented and aired on its network the journey of produce from seedlings grown in the soil of California farms to its transportation at full maturation across the country to a food bank in Illinois, to the logistics and operation efforts led by volunteers to distribute the fresh produce to families across the United States.
Disney has supported Feeding America's efforts to end hunger in the U.S. since 2012, providing significant funding for the organization's produce programs and volunteer efforts at member food banks. This year's funding will help food banks provide more fresh produce to kids and families facing hunger by removing barriers to sourcing and distributing produce, such as building capacity by increasing refrigeration and equipment at food banks or helping to store and distribute fresh produce within communities to people who need it most.
See list of grant recipient food banks below.
Central Texas Food Bank – Austin, TX
Foodshare – Bloomfield, CT
Lowcountry Food Bank – Charleston, SC
Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina – Charlotte, NC
Greater Chicago Food Depository – Chicago, IL
Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano – Concord, CA
Montgomery County Food Bank – Conroe, TX
Second Harvest Food Bank of Southeast North Carolina – Fayetteville, NC
Treasure Coast Food Bank – Fort Pierce, FL
Central California Food Bank – Fresno, CA
Northern Illinois Food Bank – Geneva, IL
Long Island Cares, Inc. – Hauppauge, NY
Community Foodbank of New Jersey – Hillside, NJ
Houston Food Bank – Houston, TX
Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County – Irvine, CA
Los Angeles Regional Food Bank – Los Angeles, CA
Food Bank For New York City – New York, NY
City Harvest – New York, NY
Alameda County Community Food Bank – Oakland, CA
Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida – Orlando, FL
Food Share of Ventura County – Oxnard, CA
Feeding South Florida – Pembroke Park, FL
Philabundance – Philadelphia, PA
Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina – Raleigh, NC
Feeding America Riverside | San Bernardino Counties – Riverside, CA
San Francisco and Marin Food Banks – San Francisco, CA
Second Harvest of Silicon Valley – San Jose, CA
Redwood Empire Food Bank – Santa Rosa, CA
Food Lifeline – Seattle, WA
Capital Area Food Bank – Washington, DC
In addition to funding produce operations, Disney launched their Feed the Love campaign in March 2020, led by ABC and the other media networks, to help provide access to nutritious food during the pandemic. This campaign continues to drive awareness of hunger relief efforts while educating the public at large about how to seek and provide help.
To learn about Feeding America and the network of food banks, visit FeedingAmerica.org/FeedTheLove.
