Ready Response: How COVID-19 is impacting food security and community wellness

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COVID-19 is disrupting business operations and ESG programs across the world. To support your efforts in this time of disruption, we’re rounding up relevant Center resources, news, company best practices, and research and delivering it straight to you.

Blog: Supporting food security during COVID-19

While COVID-19 continues to put pressure on our health care systems across the globe, we are all thankful that children seem to be spared from the worst symptoms of the virus. Many, however, aren’t immune from its subsequent effects—especially the threat of hunger. READ MORE

Webinar: Corporate Wellness: Promoting health in your company and community

Promoting food security is an important way to invest in your community during the COVID-19 pandemic, and could be embedded into broader wellness plans. In this webinar, you’ll learn from companies that have created robust wellness plans for both their companies and communities, so you can create more resilient programs going forward. WATCH NOW

Members in Action

Check out our ongoing list of how companies are responding to COVID-19.

The Kroger Company Zero Hunger/Zero Waste Foundation made a $3 million commitment to deploy hunger-relief resources to communities impacted by the coronavirus. This commitment will be spread between the foundation’s nonprofit partners Feeding America and No Kid Hungry, and will support local food banks as well as fund initiatives to ensure children still have access to nutritious meals when schools are closed. 

The Walt Disney Company is donating food from its Disneyland parks to the Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County while the parks are closed. The company plans to donate excess dairy, fruit, vegetables, packaged goods, and banquet meals to the food bank, which is working to end hunger in the Orange County area.

Relevant Research

While social distancing is necessary to help limit the spread of the virus, anything that deters people from accessing group meals at senior centers or food banks puts low-income seniors in danger of malnutrition and hunger. Millions of them also typically cannot afford to stock up on food or supplies, and if they can, many need transportation assistance to and from grocery stores. READ MORE

News You Can Use

With coronavirus closing schools, here's how you can help food insecure children

The coronavirus pandemic is shutting down schools and parents are scrambling to find ways to feed their hungry kids. Charitable organizations are working to fill the gap, but they need your help. Here are a few organizations you can support. CNN

Food banks are seeing volunteers disappear and supplies evaporate as coronavirus fears mount

Food and cash donations have sharply decreased, even as the logistics of feeding the hungry have become more complex. Washington Post

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