Boca Raton, Fla. — Office Depot, a wholly owned subsidiary of The ODP Corporation, a leading provider of business services, products and digital workplace technology solutions through an integrated B2B distribution platform, is providing $1.5 million to Feeding America®, the largest domestic hunger-relief organization in the country, in support of its COVID-19 Response Fund to help local food banks across the country distribute more than 1.3 billion pounds of food to communities in need.
“We are proud to support the Feeding America network of food banks as it works tirelessly to address the increased demand for food assistance resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic,” says Gerry Smith, chief executive officer for Office Depot and The ODP Corporation. “Now more than ever, we are committed to strengthening local communities and hope that this donation will help to provide relief for families that are struggling to put food on the table.”
Feeding America’s COVID-19 Response Fund enables its network of 200-member food banks to efficiently and effectively secure the resources they need to serve the most vulnerable members of their communities. More people than ever before are visiting food banks, and according to a recent survey by Feeding America, nearly 40% of those served by the network are seeking food assistance for the first time. Households with children are more likely to experience food insecurity, with a report by Feeding America finding that the number of food insecure children could escalate to 18 million, an all-time high, due to the COVID-19 crisis.
“The pandemic continues to impact our entire nation, including millions of children who are out of school and at greater risk of hunger without access to meals that they typically receive when school is in session,” says Casey Marsh, chief development officer at Feeding America. “Food banks are helping to address the need during this unprecedented time, and we are grateful to Office Depot for their generous donation to help fight hunger in our communities.”
Office Depot, LLC has approximately 1,300 stores, an online presence and thousands of dedicated sales professionals. For more information, visit news.officedepot.com. For more on how Office Depot supports communities in need, visit www.depotdifference.com.
Feeding America® is the largest hunger-relief organization in the United States. Through a network of 200 food banks and 60,000 food pantries and meal programs, it provides meals to more than 40 million people each year. For more information, visit www.feedingamerica.org,
SOURCE: Office Depot, LLC