NEW YORK - As someone who keeps a close eye on all the fun holidays that fill up the calendar—happy National Golf Day and National Frappé Day, everyone!—I am all for celebrating all events. National holidays are also meant for awareness, and Feeding America wanted to highlight the importance of having food available. In honor of the organization’s Hunger Action Month, HelloFresh has announced it will roll out surplus food donations, expand its Meals With Meaning free meal-kit program, and encourage an uptick in customer donations.
“Reducing food waste and combating food insecurity are core values at HelloFresh, and through our various social impact initiatives, like Beyond the Box, we can address both issues,” said Uwe Voss, Chief Executive Officer of HelloFresh U.S. “We are extremely grateful to our various partners and our customers for helping us to work toward positive, lasting change in our local communities.”
Feeding America kickstarted Hunger Action Month to raise awareness about food insecurity in America. In September, HelloFresh showed its dedication to fighting this nationwide hurdle with a donation of approximately 500,000 pounds of food to its 20+ various charity partners throughout the country.
In addition, through advocacy and awareness programs targeted for Hunger Action Month, HelloFresh saw a 25 percent increase in customer contributions compared to previous months through its Meals with Meaning in-app program, explained the company in its release. Since the start of 2021, HelloFresh has provided approximately 1 million pounds of food to the Feeding America network and nearly 5.2 million pounds of food overall.
As part of its ongoing efforts to support the communities in which it operates, HelloFresh has introduced several initiatives through its Beyond the Box programming, including:
- Network of Charitable & Corporate Partners - HelloFresh works with over 20 partners across its network, including food banks, food rescue organizations, corporate partners, and local governments. Each week, HelloFresh identifies fresh food surplus from its distribution centers, which are then distributed to the local community members in need
- Meals with Meaning - In 2020, HelloFresh launched Meals with Meaning as a response to the increased levels of food insecurity exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The program kicked off by providing approximately 600,000 free meal kits to families facing hunger in Newark, NJ; and Brooklyn, NY, and recently has expanded to Dallas, Texas; and Atlanta, Georgia. The goal is to distribute at least 1.5 million meals through 2022
- Customer Contributions - HelloFresh customers have the opportunity to gift a meal kit to someone in need by adding “Meals with Meaning” to their HelloFresh menu selection. This option is offered each week through the HelloFresh Market, allowing customers to give the gift of nourishing meals to food-insecure households
With news always on the horizon in both the buy and supply sides, keep an eye on AndNowUKnow.
