General Mills and its Foundation Expand COVID-19 Charitable Response to $14 Million Due to Growing Hunger Rates

MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--With acute food insecurity expected to double worldwide in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the General Mills Foundation announced an additional $4 million of philanthropic funding for nonprofit organizations working to alleviate growing food insecurity worldwide. The $4 million in supplemental funding is in addition to General Mills’ charitable response since March 2020 of $10 million worth of grants from the General Mills Foundation and food donations from the company to help food banks, food pantries and other anti-hunger organizations meet the elevated community needs driven by the pandemic.

The additional investment is focused on expanding the capacities of food bank networks and leading hunger relief programs to meet the increased community need for emergency meals and food assistance while also helping food systems become more sustainable, equitable and resilient. Among the organizations receiving added support from the General Mills Foundation through this $4 million grants package are the Global FoodBanking Network, the European Food Banks Federation, Second Harvest Heartland, the Global Child Nutrition Foundation and Feeding America.

Expanding the Capacity of MealConnect

The funding includes $2 million dedicated to expanding the capabilities of Feeding America’s MealConnect platform, a mobile app that makes it easy for grocery stores, restaurants, farmers and food businesses to donate their good excess food to local charities. The grant will expand Feeding America’s ability to connect more people and households with food amid the pandemic, while enabling more food donors to regularly and efficiently donate their surplus food to charities.

"We know food banks and other hunger-fighting organizations are creatively working to address surging demand for assistance amid a reduced food supply, due to the pandemic,” said Mary Jane Melendez, Chief Sustainability and Social Impact Officer for General Mills. “These additional grants from the General Mills Foundation will support those extraordinary efforts to nourish people facing hunger, while also helping to ensure that the world’s good surplus food does not go to waste. We also encourage people to do what they can to support food banks in their own communities.”

Additional Efforts to Support Hunger Relief

The company’s latest COVID-19 response augments more than $50 million in cash giving by General Mills and its Foundation in fiscal 2020, along with more than $40 million worth of food product donations provided by General Mills to nonprofit food banks to help reduce hunger and ensure food security for people and pets across global communities.

About General Mills

General Mills is a leading global food company whose purpose is to make food the world loves. Its brands include Cheerios, Annie's, Yoplait, Nature Valley, Häagen-Dazs, Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Old El Paso, Wanchai Ferry, Yoki, BLUE and more. Headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, General Mills generated fiscal 2020 net sales of U.S. $17.6 billion. In addition, General Mills’ share of non-consolidated joint venture net sales totaled U.S. $1.0 billion.