Food, beverage companies donate millions of dollars and products to Hurricane Harvey relief
Among those leading the pack in the food and beverage company are Kellogg Company, PepsiCo, Ready Pac, ABInBev, Starbucks and the newly merged Amazon and Whole Foods Market.
Kellogg announced Aug. 28 that I will donate $100,000 to support disaster relief efforts in Texas through Feeding America and other aid groups in the Gulf Coast region. It also has sent more than million servings of its iconic cereals, such as Kellogg’s Corn Pops and Bear Naked granola, along with a variety of snacks and treats including Nutri-Grain cereal bars, Kellogg’s Rice Krispies Treats and Cheez-It crackers to the Houston food bank.
The donations, which could expand as need is assessed, are part of Kellogg’s global Breakfasts for Better Days initiative. The initiative launched in 2013 with the goal of donating 1 billion servings by 2016 to address food insecurity. It quickly surpassed that goal and set a new one of providing three billion servings for better days to people worldwide through food donations, expanded breakfast programs to reach 2 million children, supporting 500,000 farmers, donating 45,000 volunteer days from employees and engaging 300 million people to help its efforts, according to the company.
PepsiCo also stepped forward to donate $1 million to Red Cross disaster relief following Harvey’s landfall. Like Kellogg, PepsiCo says it can provide critical supplies, such as Aquafina purified drinking water to those who are impacted by the storm.
For PepsiCo, the storm’s affect is personal as the company employees 10,000 Texans, who it says are prepared to help local authorities and disaster relief agencies “marshal necessary resources to affected areas and dress immediate needs.”
ABIBev also is helping to provide 155,000 cans of fresh water to Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Arlington, Texas, through its emergency water program.
Salad kit and fresh meal maker Ready Pac Foods, while much smaller than PepsiCo and Kellogg’s, is doing what it can to help by donating 24,000 Chicken Caesar Bistro Bowl salads for those in Texas impacted by the storm. The bowls come with forks, making them easy to eat on the go and in situations where everyday home goods could be in short supply.
Starbucks and the newly merged Amazon and Whole Foods Market are magnifying their donations by offering to match money given by others to the American Red Cross.
Starbucks will donate $250,000 for hurricane Harvey relief and says it will match donations made by its employees through the company’s Partner Match program.
Amazon and Whole Foods Market will match cash donations made via Amazon up to $1 million to the American Red Cross Hurricane Harvey Relief. The company also has created a wish list of nonperishable goods that consumers can buy to support the relief efforts.
Other donors outside of the food and beverage space include Microsoft, Aetna, Allergan, Caterpiller, Cheniere Energy, Walmart, Lowe’s, Home Depot, Western Union, Apple, Google, JPMorgan Chase, Target and UPS.
