Lineage Foundation for Good, the independent philanthropic arm of Lineage, Inc., the world’s largest global temperature-controlled warehousing company, has pledged $8.8 million in food donations and cash grants to community partners to address hunger and food insecurity.
In kicking off the charitable commitment, alongside its Lineage’s initial public offering on the Nasdaq Global Select Market last week under the ticker symbol “LINE,” the Foundation donated $100,000 to the New York Common Pantry and hosted a meal kit packing event in Manhattan’s Times Square to provide meals for families in need throughout the city.
One in nine people in New York reportedly face hunger, and 1.2 million New Yorkers across the city’s five boroughs are food insecure, according to the USDA and the New York City Mayor’s Office of Food Policy. Globally, up to 309 million people are facing acute levels of food insecurity in 2024 and do not know where their next meal is coming from, according to World Food Programme statistics.
Since 2020, Novi, Michigan-headquartered Lineage has donated the equivalent of over 176 million meals, including through the company’s “Share a Meal” campaign and in partnership with customers donating surplus product, as well as team members giving food to local food banks and grants issued to help build capacity at food banks around the globe.
“Every day, our team members play an essential role in helping safeguard our customers’ products on their journey from farm to forks in communities around the globe. In honor of our IPO, I can’t think of a better way to celebrate this achievement than by spending some time giving back to the people of New York,” said President and CEO Greg Lehmkuhl. “Food is essential for everyone, everywhere. Moving forward as a public company, we will continue to show up in the fight to end food insecurity as we strive to transform the food supply chain to eliminate waste and help feed the world.”
The Lineage IPO, the largest thus far in 2024, raised $4.43 billion on the first day of trading as the stock closed up 3%. Initially priced at $78 per share, shares closed at $87 on July 29.
