"Food insecurity is one of the many devastating inequities magnified by COVID-19," said Ebony Beckwith, Chief Philanthropy Officer, Salesforce, in the press release. "Our partnership with Eat. Learn. Play. represents how we can come together during a crisis to support vulnerable communities with innovative solutions that deliver both immediate relief and long-term impact."
"Globally, food insecurity has doubled as a direct result of COVID-19, and there are 54M Americans now struggling with this, including one in four children,” added Darian Rodriguez Heyman, Executive Director, Numi Foundation. “Numi Foundation is honored to work with such an esteemed group of partners and funders to help serve some of the highest-need families in our community through this innovative program. We look forward to building on this emergency relief program to launch an ongoing, sustainable effort to increase access to fresh, healthy food in the middle of some of the country’s most prominent food deserts."
Full Harvest, the Numi Foundation, and World Central Kitchen have both partnered with Salesforce and the Eat. Learn. Play. Foundation to connect thousands of low-income families within the Oakland Unified School District who are suffering from hunger and food insecurity, according to a press release from Numi. That press release says that the initiative has already served more than 100,000 pounds of food to nearly 7,000 low-income families within the Oakland Unified School District. “Our next goal is to deliver 30,000 boxes, saving more than 300 tons of farm produce from waste in the process while supporting local, minority-owned farms who are unable to sell millions of pounds of fresh produce due to the closure of restaurants,” the press release says.
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"The COVID pandemic has profoundly disrupted the food system with many small farmers unable to sell millions of pounds of produce, while more Americans go hungry," said Christine Moseley, Founder and CEO of Full Harvest, in Full Harvest’s press release. "We're honored to be part of such a committed group of companies and nonprofits partnering to ensure the long-term sustainability of our farming communities and providing our nation's most at-risk families with a nutritious source of food."Full Harvest is partnering with community groups to identify small and minority-owned organic farms who have been impacted by COVID-19. The Numi Foundation and World Central Kitchen will purchase the produce from farmers via the Full Harvest marketplace, and then distribute it to Oakland families.
“COVID has put an incredible strain on millions of American families, requiring us to find innovative partners who can help us get healthy foods to these communities quickly and at scale,” said Ramiro Arevalo Jr. Manager of Partnerships and Relief Operations at World Central Kitchen, in Full Harvest’s press release. “With its ease of purchasing and logistics support, the Full Harvest marketplace has been an invaluable tool in helping us feed nutritious fresh produce to thousands of Oakland families.”
"This moment has clearly demonstrated the need for all of us to have a holistic approach to food security,” added Jose Corona, Vice President of Programs and Partnerships, Eat. Learn. Play. “We are proud that Eat. Learn. Play., along with all of the partners in this effort, has begun to lay the foundation for a new approach to getting healthy meals and fresh farm produce for our children and families in Oakland. It starts with sourcing from farmers who have been historically disconnected by traditional supply chains, to delivering the food in a manner that meets families where they are."
