As the world continue to address the health and economic disruption implications of the novel coronavirus pandemic (SARS CoV-2) that causes the deadly Covid-19 respiratory disease, Kraft Heinz – which is co-headquartered in Chicago and Pittsburgh – has committed to donating $12 million globally to ensure people around the world have the food they require during this challenging time.
As part of the commitment, the company has announced a donation valued at $6.6 million to help American consumers in need. It is also is working with community and food bank partners in other countries where it does business, including Italy, Spain, Australia and the Netherlands.
The company is giving $1.9 million in cash to Feeding America, the largest domestic hunger relief organization in the United States, to help support food banks located in and near places where the Kraft Heinz has offices and plants, such as the Greater Chicago Food Depository and the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank. Feeding America’s Covid-19 Response Fund will help food banks across the country as they support communities impacted by the pandemic, enabling them to secure the resources needed to efficiently serve some of the most vulnerable people.
The company also is donating $4.7 million in products, including DEVOUR frozen meals (one of which is pictured above), Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, Heinz Gravy, Planters Nut Mixes, and a number of other items, which will be provided to Feeding America member food banks.
This $12 million contribution builds upon previous coronavirus-related donations Kraft Heinz has made in China, origin of the pandemic and a country where the company has both factories and offices. As infections were spreading in the city of Wuhan and elsewhere in Hubei Province earlier this year, the company partnered with Babytree, one of the largest parenting websites in the PRC, to donate more than 4,000 boxes of Heinz infant food to families in need through the Shanghai Fosun Foundation. Products were delivered to 25 hospitals in five Chinese provinces most severely affected by the outbreak.
In the United Kingdom, Heinz is partnering with Magic Breakfast, a charity that provides healthy school breakfasts to hungry and malnourished children in disadvantaged areas of Britain, to secure 12 million free breakfasts for students who need them the most. The partnership equates to one breakfast a day, five days a week over eight weeks, for school children in the UK who would usually benefit from access to breakfast club programs that have recently been cancelled as a result of schools closing.
In Canada, the company will be making a series of donations to Food Banks Canada, which serves 650 food banks, in the coming weeks, starting with more than 100,000 boxes of KD/Kraft Dinner, the country’s most popular macaroni and cheese brand.
“We at Kraft Heinz have an enormously important role to play in making sure people have the food and nourishment they need – and that’s especially critical at this challenging moment,” said Kraft Heinz CEO Miguel Patricio. “This donation is an immediate and impactful way we can help our neighbors in need around the world and help fill this critical gap. We are very pleased to make these donations on behalf of our worldwide employees, who are working especially hard during this time to provide consumers and their families with products they know and trust. We are all in this together and are reminded that we’re only as strong as our most vulnerable.”
